Elon Musk says "election-interfering space lasers" in joke about his supposed midterm influence

In the 2026 U.S. midterms, Democrats won control of both congressional chambers and flipped several Republican-held Senate seats, including Texas, where Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton. Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO who was the cycle’s largest individual political donor—about $446 million, according to a Washington Post analysis of federal filings—had urged voters to support Republicans and directed large sums to Republican-aligned groups. After the losses, Musk posted on X on Nov. 4 with a joke about his own supposed influence over the election. The results marked a setback for President Donald Trump and Republican candidates despite Musk’s spending, including in Texas, where his money helped finance Republican-aligned advertising.