Republicans' defeat in the US midterm elections cost Musk's companies more than $420 billion

The market reacted to the election results

Shares of Tesla and SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, fell after the US midterm elections by roughly 11% and 9% respectively, with their combined losses exceeding $420 billion. This was reported by CNBC, citing Thursday's trading; the results data is cited by Gazeta.Ru. Investors fear that after the Democrats' victory, the entrepreneur faces congressional investigations, and his companies will come under stricter regulation.

The biggest backer of the losing campaign

Musk was the largest sponsor of the Republicans in the elections: his contributions exceeded $470 million, yet most of the candidates he backed lost. The businessman himself reacted to the result with a joke, saying his lasers failed to influence the vote.

Estimates of his personal losses differ

Musk's fortune, which had exceeded $1 trillion after SpaceX's IPO in June, dropped below $800 billion — it shrank by about $90 billion over the week. However, the Financial Times estimated the billionaire's personal losses more modestly — at $30 billion; the discrepancy between the outlets' estimates persists. In any case, Musk remains the world's richest person.

What could change in practical terms

Deutsche Bank analysts suggest Musk may face additional difficulties in the new political environment. A specific example: Gina Ortiz Jones, who won the Texas governor's race, called for a moratorium on issuing permits for building new data centers — and it was in that state that Tesla and SpaceX planned to build the Terafab complex with a data center and a semiconductor plant. Thus, for now this is about risks and statements by the governor-elect, not about decisions that have been made. Earlier, Reuters learned of a hidden benefit for Musk from the merger of his companies SpaceX and Tesla.