Musk's political bet in Texas failed, and his companies may pay for it. He gave more than $445 million to Republican candidates and groups, according to federal filings analyzed by OpenSecrets and cited by NPR, including more than $200 million in Texas. Democrats won both chambers of Congress, and Gina Hinojosa beat Greg Abbott to become Texas's first Democratic governor in more than three decades, NBC News reports, carrying Reuters.
With a Democratic Congress, NPR says Musk will likely face investigations into the government contracts his companies have won since Trump returned to office and into his role leading DOGE. Reuters notes Musk threatened retaliation last month after a report that Democrats were weighing probes of his companies.
In Texas, one of Musk's biggest risks could be slower approvals for the data centers SpaceX needs for its AI plans, according to Reuters. Electrek reports Democrats won every statewide contest, with James Talarico taking the Senate seat 55-43 in the most expensive Senate race in U.S. history.
Tesla's share reaction is covered in our earlier story; this piece looks at the political and regulatory fallout.
