Abstract:
On Thursday afternoon, the shares of SpaceX and Tesla fell by about 9% and 11% respectively. After the U.S. midterm elections have settled, investors are worried that Musk will usher in a new round of congressional investigations and that the two companies will also be subject to more stringent regulatory constraints. This decline is in sync with the overall sell-off in the technology sector; since Tuesday's close, the combined market value losses of SpaceX and Tesla have exceeded US$420 billion.
On September 29, 2026, at the White House in Washington, the United States, after a special meeting on artificial intelligence for technology executives, U.S. President Trump spoke to the media, and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk looked on.
According to Forbes' real-time list of billionaires, after SpaceX completed its initial public offering in June this year, Musk's personal wealth once exceeded US$1 trillion. Now it has fallen back to less than US$800 billion. His wealth has shrunk by about US$90 billion in the past week, but he is still the richest man in the world.
The Financial Times first reported that Musk is the largest donor to Republican candidates and related causes in this midterm election, with donations exceeding US$470 million.
Although Musk provided huge campaign funds to the Republican Party, most of the candidates he supported ultimately lost the election.
Democrats take control of the House of Representatives and Senate. The situation in Texas, where Tesla and SpaceX are headquartered, has also reversed: Democratic candidates James Talarico (elected as U.S. Senator) and Gina Hinojosa (elected as Governor) defeated Musk's long-term allies - state Attorney General Ken Paxton and current Governor Greg Abbott.
Deutsche Bank analysts wrote in a research report released on Wednesday: "The policy direction itself is difficult to predict, but in the current environment, we expect that SpaceX may face new operating resistance."
Analysts pointed out that Governor-elect Hinojosa “made data centers a core campaign issue.” She called for a moratorium on the approval of new projects until the state parliament introduces a more complete bill to establish protection mechanisms for water consumption, electricity costs, local jurisdictions, and subsidy policies, while criticizing the policy of tax exemptions for large industrial facilities.
Tesla and SpaceX are both building artificial intelligence infrastructure in Texas; the two companies plan to build the giant project Terafab in Grimes County, which will include a data center and a large-scale chip factory.
According to corporate recruitment information reported by the media, SpaceX also plans to build a supercomputer at the Texas Star Base, the company’s launch site and supporting company town.
Deutsche Bank analysts also said that SpaceX’s computing power construction project in Texas now faces delays. Analysts said that in the face of expected tightening of new regulations in the field of data center construction, SpaceX may be forced to increase capital expenditures to meet compliance requirements.
CNN quoted a Democratic Senate aide as saying: Musk and SpaceX have been notified that they must keep a complete record of the various restrictions on the military version of the Starlink satellite Internet in Ukraine. These restrictions weaken Ukraine’s defenses against Russian attacks.
In addition, regulatory scrutiny may also derail Musk’s idea of promoting the merger of SpaceX and Tesla. Musk himself has publicly floated the idea, while also acknowledging that the deal would first need to be approved by shareholders.
As of Thursday’s close, the combined market value of SpaceX and Tesla has evaporated by approximately $456 billion.
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