Musk Jokes After Democrats Retake Congress: Says His Space Lasers Did Not Work This Time
Washington — After Democrats retook both the House and the Senate in the November 3 midterm elections, Elon Musk, the Republican Party's biggest individual donor this cycle and the head of Tesla and SpaceX, mocked his own side's defeat in a post on X early on November 4, joking that his election-interfering space lasers did not work this time.
According to a Newsweek analysis of federal campaign-finance filings through mid-October, Musk spent more than $445 million supporting Republican candidates and political organizations this cycle, making him the largest individual donor of the midterms; other tallies put the total near $474 million. His biggest bet was Texas, where he reportedly put more than $200 million behind Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, only for Democrat James Talarico to win, becoming the first Democrat to win a Texas Senate race since 1988.
After Democrat Gina Hinojosa, who campaigned in part against data-center development, upset incumbent Governor Greg Abbott in the Texas governor's race, Musk joked in a follow-up post that data centers in space were looking pretty appealing right now.
Before the election, Musk had warned that a Democratic sweep of Congress and the presidency in 2028 could put the United States on a path to permanent one-party rule. A day before the vote, Hillary Clinton said the new Congress should begin holding people like Musk accountable starting in January, while President Trump said he would protect Musk if Democrats investigated him, including with a preemptive pardon if necessary.
Source: Elon Musk
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：马斯克2025年2月在 Maryland 州 National Harbor 一场活动上讲话。Gage Skidmore 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Elon Musk speaking at an event in National Harbor, Maryland, February 2025. By Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
