Elon Musk Jokes About Failed “Space Lasers” After Republican Election Defeats

Tech billionaire Elon Musk joked on Wednesday about Republicans’ losses in the U.S. midterm elections after spending hundreds of millions of dollars to support the party.

Elon Musk reacted on X after Republican candidates he supported suffered major defeats in the 2026 U.S. midterm elections. [Photo: Mike Lewinski Flickr]

Democrats captured control of both chambers of Congress in the Nov. 3 elections, dealing a major setback to President Donald Trump and the Republican Party, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

“Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time,” Musk wrote on X, adding a shrug emoji.

Musk contributed nearly half a billion dollars to Republican political efforts during the election cycle, making him the largest individual political donor in modern U.S. election history, according to campaign finance tracker OpenSecrets, as cited by AFP.

Much of his political spending went to his Republican-leaning America PAC and the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC supporting Republican Senate candidates.

Among the beneficiaries was Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton.

Musk donated $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund in September, with the money subsequently transferred to a group supporting Paxton.

Paxton lost to Democrat James Talarico, who became the first Democrat to win a Texas statewide election since 1994. Democrat Gina Hinojosa also defeated Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in the Texas gubernatorial race.

The defeats underscored the limits of Musk’s substantial political spending, which failed to prevent Democratic victories in several closely watched contests.