It seems that this election might become more expensive for Elon Musk.
The results in Texas are particularly painful for Musk: James Taralico defeated the Republican nominee Ken Paxton to win a Senate seat; Democratic candidate Gina Inohosa defeated Greg Abbott, who had served as governor for a long time.
According to The New York Times, this Tesla and SpaceX CEO invested approximately $224 million in the Republican candidates from Texas, with $158 million alone being invested in September.
In 2024, Musk moved the headquarters of SpaceX from California to Texas due to his criticism of California legislators. Now, he faces the situation where his two listed companies may once again come under the regulation of Democratic officials.
Texas is the location of Tesla's Austin Gigafactory, and the company's Robotaxi services are also operational in multiple cities within the state. Meanwhile, SpaceX launches its Starship rockets from the Starship Base in Boca Chica, which is near the Mexican border.
Analyst Dan Ives, Wedbush, holds an optimistic view of both SpaceX and Tesla. In a report on Wednesday, he stated that Musk "now needs to find a way forward after the Texas Republicans suffered losses in both the Senate and governor elections."
Before the election, Musk donated at least $446 million to Republican candidates and groups. On Wednesday, during his victory speech, he had a clash with Tarikko, who specifically criticized the billionaire.
The world's richest man responded to the wave of Democratic victories that swept across the country in the midterms on X, writing that the plan to build data centers in space SpaceX "now seems quite attractive."
Musk also added, "It seems that my plan to interfere with the election using space lasers didn't work this time."
