FX.co ★ Elon Musk quips after Republican defeat despite nearly half‑billion dollar backing

American billionaire Elon Musk publicly commented for the first time on preliminary midterm results that delivered a decisive victory to the Democratic Party. “Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn't work this time,” the businessman wrote on his X account. The New York Times estimates Musk contributed a record $474 million to Republican campaigns, the largest external donation total in a single US election cycle. Reuters and the BBC put his spending at roughly $445–446 million, noting that traditional Democratic donors, including George Soros and Michael Bloomberg, together spent less than half that sum.

Musk’s political activity ramped up earlier in the year with a $10 million donation to Republican Nate Morris’s campaign in Kentucky and by August had evolved into a broad voter‑mobilization operation. The Wall Street Journal reported that the funds were used to boost turnout among likely Trump supporters, who often skip midterm contests. Nevertheless, the multimillion‑dollar ground game failed to avert a widespread defeat for the party nationwide.

Preliminary tallies from Decision Desk HQ show the Democrats securing control of both chambers of Congress, with 233 seats in the House of Representatives and 54 in the Senate. Republicans are projected to win 143 and 44 seats, respectively. The November 3 vote outcome strips the White House of legislative initiative and cements a deep political split in Washington.