Elon Musk Jokes About 'Election-Interfering Space Lasers' After Record $446M Midterm Spending Spree Flops

Elon Musk joked that his 'election-interfering space lasers' had failed after Democrats took both houses of Congress on Tuesday, despite the record $446 million (£332 million) he spent trying to keep Republicans in power.

'Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn't work this time,' the world's richest man wrote on X, adding a shrug emoji.

Networks had already projected Democratic control of both chambers, and the post had drawn more than 5.3 million views at the time of writing.

The $446 million total, drawn from Federal Election Commission filings, runs only to 14 October. The New York Times, which also counted IRS and state records, put the total at $474 million (£353 million), the most ever by a non-candidate in a single cycle, by the paper's count.

The Story Behind Musk's 'Space Lasers' Joke

The phrase echoes claims, spread on Threads and X after Donald Trump's 2024 victory, that Musk's Starlink satellites had been used to alter vote counts. Election officials in several states rejected the theory, and no evidence has emerged that any votes were changed.

The idea resurfaced in Alex Gibney's documentary Musk, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September. In it, Ashley St Clair, the mother of one of his children, shares texts, authenticated by NPR, in which Musk told her just before the 2024 election that he had 'over 10 thousand lasers in space.'

Musk's lawyer, Alex Spiro, has said the film defames him.

Where Musk's Midterm Money Went

Democrats flipped seven Republican-held Senate seats, including Texas and Ohio.

America PAC, his own super PAC, received about $216 million (£161 million). It spent more than $8 million (£6 million) in each of the Senate races in Michigan and Ohio, FEC spending reports show. Democrats won both, with Abdul El-Sayed holding the open Michigan seat and Sherrod Brown unseating Senator Jon Husted in Ohio.

The Congressional Leadership Fund, the main House Republican super PAC, took $30 million (£22 million) of his money. Democrats won the chamber.

Musk's Biggest Bet Collapses in Texas

The largest wager was in Texas, where Tesla, SpaceX, and X are headquartered. The Senate Leadership Fund received $168 million (£125 million) from Musk and passed $158 million (£118 million) of it to Texas PAC, which backed Attorney General Ken Paxton's Senate bid. In all, more than $200 million (£149 million) of his money went into that race.

Democratic state Representative James Talarico took about 55 per cent of the vote to Paxton's 43 per cent in unofficial returns, the party's first Texas Senate win since 1988.

In Austin on Tuesday night, Talarico told supporters, 'The people of Texas, you were my slingshot and tonight we defeated Goliath.'

Governor Greg Abbott, to whom Musk gave about $5.5 million (£4.1 million) this cycle according to campaign finance filings, lost to Democrat Gina Hinojosa.

She had called for a moratorium on new data centre approvals.

In a separate post, Musk wrote, 'Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now.' SpaceX plans to build data centres in orbit.

From 'a Lot Less' Spending to a Record

At the Qatar Economic Forum on 20 May 2025, Musk said, 'In terms of political spending, I'm going to do a lot less in the future.'

He left the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) days later. In June 2025, he fell out with Trump, claiming on X that the president appeared in files related to Jeffrey Epstein, and in July he announced his own America Party.

Vice President JD Vance helped broker a truce. By December 2025, Musk was again writing large cheques to Republican congressional campaigns, Axios reported, and on Election Day he urged followers to 'vote red'.

Probes and Pardons Ahead

Democrats who take over House committees in January have discussed investigating Musk's time at DOGE and his companies' federal contracts, Politico reported in October. Musk replied on X, 'Live by the sword, die by the sword.'

Asked about those plans in an interview released on 2 November, Trump said he would pardon Musk and former DOGE aides if needed. 'I would if I needed to, sure. I would not even think about it, I'd do it,' he told the New York Post podcast Pod Force One.

No charges have been brought against Musk.