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Musk's half-billion dollar midterm bust

· Fact-checked before it aired. Unconfirmed claims from this segment are not shown.

Texas elected Gina Hinojosa as its first Democratic governor in more than three decades, and Musk spent at least $474 million backing Republicans in the midterms, per Reuters/CNBC.

The Guardian's live results confirm Democrats flipped seven Senate seats, including Kansas and Iowa, as part of the midterm wave.

The Guardian reported US stocks rose and the dollar slid as investors digested the Democratic midterm victory.

Democrats took control of Congress and flipped seven Senate seats, including Kansas, Iowa, Texas, Maine, Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina. This is a politician's opinion/comment on the midterm results, not a factual claim requiring verification.

Fact-check

VERIFIED TRUE

Texas elected Gina Hinojosa as its first Democratic governor in more than three decades, and Musk spent at least $474 million backing Republicans in the midterms, per Reuters/CNBC.

As Republicans suffered a landslide defeat and Texas elected its first Democratic governor in more than three decades, one of the biggest losers of US midterms was not on the ballot: billionaire Elon Musk. The world's richest man spent nearly half a billion dollars to back https:

Original post · @Reuters

[nbcnews.com](https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/elon-musk/elon-musks-business-empire-braces-democratic-wave-texas-flips-blue-rcna607420), [cnbc.com](https://www.cnbc

VERIFIED TRUE

The Guardian's live results confirm Democrats flipped seven Senate seats, including Kansas and Iowa, as part of the midterm wave.

Democrats flip deep-red Iowa and Kansas in a historic midterm upset — winning Iowa's open Senate seat, the governor's race and House seats, and electing Kansas's first Democratic senator since 1932. A major shift ahead of 2028. Al Jazeera’s Patty Culhane reports. https://t.co/vao

Original post · Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish)

[theguardian.com](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/nov/04/midterm-elections-results-senate-house-michigan-maine-mississippi-latest-updates)

VERIFIED TRUE

The Guardian reported US stocks rose and the dollar slid as investors digested the Democratic midterm victory.

US stocks rise, dollar slides as investors digest Democrats’ midterm victory - Government bond yields fall while initial fears ease over impact of election results on world’s biggest economy Business live – latest updates US midterm elections – live updates After US midterms, wha

Original post · The Guardian

[theguardian.com](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/nov/04/us-dollar-slides-democrats-midterm-election-win-growth-fears)

VERIFIED TRUE

Democrats took control of Congress and flipped seven Senate seats, including Kansas, Iowa, Texas, Maine, Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina. This is a politician's opinion/comment on the midterm results, not a factual claim requiring verification.

US midterm elections 2026 live updates: Democrats take control of Congress in major setback for Trump - Democrats flip seven Senate seats in Kansas, Iowa, Texas, Maine, Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina; ‘blue wave’ rejects Trump’s agenda Track live results from all 50 stat

Original post · The Guardian

[theguardian.com](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/nov/04/midterm-elections-results-senate-house-michigan-maine-mississippi-latest-updates) POST ne

Sources

What the hosts said

BReuters just posted the number, and it's staggering: Elon Musk spent nearly half a billion dollars backing Republicans, and he's being called one of the biggest losers of the midterms.
BAnd the reporting holds up. At least four hundred seventy four million, and Texas elected its first Democratic governor in over thirty years.
BThe world's richest man, and he basically set that money on fire.
BI'm not sure it's 'on fire.' He wanted to shape the outcome, and he failed. That's the risk of spending big in politics.
BBut think about what he was trying to stop. A Democratic Congress means more regulation, higher taxes on his companies, maybe even pressure on SpaceX contracts. He had a lot on the line.
BSo you're saying it was self-defense? Half a billion to protect his own interests, and it didn't work. That's not a victim, that's a bad bet.
BNo, no, wait— he wasn't just protecting himself. He genuinely believes the country is heading the wrong way. He put his money where his mouth is. Most billionaires don't do that.
BOh, come on. Everyone in DC thinks they're saving the country. The question is whether it works. It clearly didn't. And now he's weaker, not stronger, in Washington.
BSo you'd rather billionaires sit on their cash and let the political class run wild? That's the progressive dream.
BI'd rather they spend it on something that actually moves votes. Half a billion, and the Democrats still swept. That tells you money isn't everything.
BFine, you've made your point. But it's still something. And on the world stage, a lame duck president with a hostile Congress means a vacuum. Our allies and enemies are watching.
BThat's the real point. The midterms weren't just about domestic policy. They'll change how the US projects power abroad. And Iran, China, Russia— they're all recalculating.
BAnd Musk is at the center of that. His companies aren't just American. Tesla has massive factories in China and Europe. SpaceX launches satellites for governments everywhere. A shift in US foreign policy hits him directly.
BThat's a stretch. Tesla's sales in China don't depend on who controls Congress. And SpaceX already has its contracts. The real question is whether Musk's political spending backfires on his brand with customers and partners.
BOh, please. He's not selling coffee mugs. His customers buy rockets and electric cars because they're the best products, not because of his politics.
BTell that to the shareholders who watched Tesla stock slide this morning. The market is already pricing in the risk.
BThat's the same market that just cheered the Democrats winning, so I'm not sure they know anything. Look, I'll give you that he wasted a lot of money. It was a bad outcome for him politically. But I'm not going to pretend that a Democratic Congress is automatically better for the world economy or for innovation.
BNeither am I. But spending half a billion and losing this badly is a signal. It tells you the Republican brand is toxic right now, even to the guy who sent rockets to Mars.
BThat's exactly my point! He's a builder, not a politician. He should stick to rockets and cars, not get dragged into this swamp.
BBut he chose to jump into the swamp. And now he's covered in it. That's on him.
BFine. Fine. But the world is still watching. And one thing's for sure: some foreign capitals are likely reading these results as a repudiation of Trump's foreign policy, especially the Iran war.
BSpeaking of recalibrating: different world entirely. Ukraine's president says the death toll from a Russian strike on a school is now forty.
BThe Guardian is reporting Zelenskyy's words. He called it an 'insane' attack on a school in Komyshuvakha, in the Zaporizhzhia region. No independent confirmation yet, but if true, this is another massacre.
BAnd it comes just as the Kremlin says it hopes the US midterm results won't impact Trump's 'peacemaking efforts.' That's rich, coming from Moscow.
BRussia's idea of peacemaking seems to be bombing schools. The question is whether a Democratic Congress will push for more aid to Ukraine, or pull back.
BThat's the tension. Democrats won partly on opposing the war in Iran, not necessarily on Ukraine. We could see a real shift in US foreign policy.
BBut look at the campaign rhetoric. Many Democrats ran on standing up to Russia, not caving. I don't think aid to Ukraine is going anywhere.
BYou might be right, but they also ran on fixing the economy. Every dollar to Ukraine is a dollar not spent on healthcare or infrastructure. That math gets ugly fast in a Democratic primary.
BAs opposed to the Republican math, which was endless blank checks for Israel and tax cuts for billionaires. Come on, the aid debate is bipartisan hypocrisy.
BWe can argue that another day. The fact is, this school attack is a war crime if confirmed. And the timing, right after the US election, is not an accident. Moscow is testing the new political reality.
BAgreed. Putin sees a divided Washington and thinks he can push harder. The next few weeks in Ukraine will tell us a lot.
BMeanwhile, markets are already reacting to the midterms. Stocks are up, the dollar is sliding, as investors digest the Democratic sweep. That's a vote of confidence in stability, at least for now.
BOr just relief that the election is over. Either way, the world is recalibrating.
BSo the morning brings a half-billion-dollar political miscalculation, a school attack in Ukraine that Zelenskyy says killed forty, and a stock market that's shrugging it all off. That's where we are.

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