Record $474 Million Bet Ends in Blowout: Elon Musk Responds as Republicans Lose Congress

A record-setting political bet

Musk, the head of Tesla and SpaceX, spent at least $474 million to help elect Republicans in the midterms. The article describes the amount as the most given by one person in a U.S. election cycle.

He focused particular attention on Texas, where he moved in 2020. Tesla, SpaceX and X also shifted their headquarters to the state.

Democrats win in Texas

Democrats retook the House and Senate, according to the article. In Texas, James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton to become the state’s first senator elected in 36 years. Gina Hinojosa also defeated Greg Abbott in the race for governor. Her support for a moratorium on building AI data centers in Texas is relevant to Musk’s interest in placing such centers in space.

Musk jokes as shares fall

SpaceX and Tesla shares each dropped around 6 percent in premarket trading early Wednesday. Musk posted on X, “Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time,” followed by a shrug emoji. He also wrote, “Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now.” Gizmodo reported that Musk deleted a post urging followers to “vote red today.”

Wealth remains substantial

The article links Musk’s data-center remark to SpaceX’s controversial plan to put AI computer centers in orbit, potentially beyond states governed by Democrats. Hinojosa supports a pause on building AI data centers in Texas.

The New York Times put Musk’s net worth at around $898 billion. The article says he is not likely to be short of money soon.