The world's richest man, Elon Musk, suffered a crushing financial and political defeat in the US midterm elections. Having spent at least $446 million supporting Republicans, the businessman was unable to prevent the Democratic Party from taking control of Congress and also lost his main bet in his "home" state of Texas.
The world's richest man, Elon Musk, suffered a crushing financial and political defeat in the US midterm elections. Having spent at least $446 million supporting Republicans, the businessman was unable to prevent the Democratic Party from taking control of Congress and also lost his main bet in his "home" state of Texas.
Musk’s main recipients of funds were his own organization America PAC and key Republican super PACs in the Senate and House of Representatives. According to The New York Times, in Texas alone — where Musk has moved the headquarters of Tesla and SpaceX — he spent about $224 million. In particular, in September he directed $158 million to the Republican super PAC in the Senate (the money was redirected to support the state’s Attorney General Ken Paxton), and another $47 million was spent on anti-advertising for his Democratic opponent James Talarico.
Despite this, The Associated Press has already projected a Democratic victory: Texas will be led by new Governor Gina Hinojosa, and James Talarico will be the new state senator. Thus, the "democratic dream and Musk's nightmare" came true - Texas "turned blue" for the first time in many decades, and the Democratic Party won a majority in both houses of the US Congress, writes Business Insider.
In his victory speech, new Senator James Talarico compared the battle with Musk to a biblical parable: “The richest man in the world, the most powerful man in the world, and the entire Washington establishment were against us. David wasn’t as big or strong as Goliath, he didn’t have as many weapons — but he had hope, faith, and a sling.”
Musk himself explained his high financial activity by his fear of a “one-party system.” In his opinion, a Democratic victory in 2026 and their likely triumph in the 2028 presidential election could lead to statehood for Washington (District of Columbia) and Puerto Rico, as well as the legalization of illegal immigrants.
“This will turn America into a permanent one-party state and destroy democracy in every sense of the word,” Musk wrote on the X network in late October.
2024 ($290+ million): A successful bet. Musk invested hundreds of millions in Donald Trump's campaign, which allowed him to head the DOGE government agency in 2025 and become one of the most influential figures in Washington.
Spring 2025 ($20+ million): First big loss. Musk invested in a Wisconsin Supreme Court election, but his candidate lost by more than 10%.
Fall 2026 ($446+ million): "Texas collapse." Republicans lost control of both houses of Congress and lost the key state of Texas.
Despite public spats with Trump in June 2025 and threats to create his own "Party of America," Musk remained the top Republican donor, surpassing traditional GOP donors like the Koch brothers and the Uichlein couple in spending.
A new phase of confrontation awaits Musk: Democrats in Congress are already hinting at the intention to summon the billionaire for a hearing, to which he responded in X: “Anyone who goes to battle against me should understand: I will find out who is really pulling the strings, and I will come for them, not just their puppets.” However, the primaries for the 2028 presidential campaign will start soon, so it is too early to close the checkbook of the richest man in the world.
Recall that the victory of the Democrats in the midterm elections to the US Congress caused a fall in stock market futures and shares of technology companies related to chips and artificial intelligence . The market reacted by sinking due to investor concerns that the new political alignment and stricter regulations could complicate permitting procedures and slow down the construction of new data centers for AI.
