Musk laughs off election drubbing with space lasers joke

Ben Berkowitz

Photo illustration of Elon Musk shrugging and holding up his hands — Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Liesa Johannssen-Koppitz/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Elon Musk cracked jokes early Wednesday morning after the Republican candidates he spent record sums supporting got drubbed in historic midterm elections.

Why it matters: No one has ever spent as much as Musk for so little payoff — especially in Texas, which ended up with a massive blue wave.

He spent an estimated $445 million in this cycle, making him the largest individual donor in modern history.

What they're saying: "Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn't work this time 🤷‍♂️," Musk posted to X just before 1:15am ET.

The intrigue: Musk also nodded at the results in the Texas governor's race, where anti-data center Democrat Gina Hinojosa won a shock victory.

"Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now," he wrote.

What to watch: It's unclear how the massive power shift in Texas will affect Musk's ambitions for his companies in the state — or how the loss will impact his appetite for more spending in 2028.

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Musk laughs off election drubbing with space lasers joke

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