Tesla and SpaceX shares each lost more than 3%, erasing close to $100 billion from their combined market value. Musk’s large holdings in both companies make his wealth especially sensitive to share-price swings. Even after Wednesday’s decline, he could lose an amount equal to Bezos’ entire fortune and still lead him by $115 billion. Musk’s wealth also exceeded the combined fortunes of Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, ranked third and fourth, respectively, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.
The sell-off followed Republican defeats in Texas, where Musk had spent at least $446 million supporting Republican candidates and groups ahead of the midterm elections. About $224 million went to backing Texas Republicans. Voters elected Democrat James Talarico to the Senate and Democrat Gina Hinojosa as governor.
The results may affect Musk’s businesses beyond one day of trading. Tesla’s main US manufacturing plant, Gigafactory, is just outside Austin, and Musk plans to build his Terafab chip factory nearby. SpaceX launches Starship from its Starbase facility in Texas. Hinojosa has pledged an immediate moratorium on new data centers, while Democratic control of Congress could lead to closer scrutiny of technology companies.
Musk joked on X that his “election-interfering space lasers” had failed. He said SpaceX’s plans to build data centers in orbit looked “pretty appealing right now” after the Democratic victories in Texas. His net worth was poised to fall further on Thursday, with both companies’ shares lower again in premarket trading.
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