Talarico’s win defeated Republican Ken Paxton, whom Musk had strongly supported. Users on X noticed the deleted posts. Asked whether Musk was removing election-related messages, his AI chatbot Grok replied, “True.” Grok said Musk had taken down a “Vote red today!” post after results showed “major Republican losses.”
Musk made few direct comments about the elections on Tuesday. His call to vote Republican was among several posts promoting Grok. On Wednesday morning, he shared posts analysing the results, then wrote sarcastically: “Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn't work this time”. Shortly before that, he had posted: “Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now.”
Federal Election Commission filings show Musk spent at least $458 million, or Rs 4,400 crore, backing Republican candidates and conservative groups during the midterm election cycle. He increased spending in the campaign’s second half as Republicans sought to retain control of Congress. Major contributions went to the Texas Senate race, the Senate Leadership Fund, a major Republican super PAC, and key House races in New York, New Jersey and Iowa. About $216 million went to his own political action committee, America PAC, which spent the money on voter outreach, campaign workers and digital advertisements.
The electoral setback coincided with a fall in Musk’s estimated fortune. His net worth was put at $878 billion on Wednesday, after he lost $23.7 billion as Tesla and SpaceX shares declined. Investors were concerned a new Democratic Congress could slow regulations and approvals for data-centre construction. The Financial Times estimated Musk is now around $30 billion poorer; much of his wealth comes from stakes in the two companies.
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