‘Space lasers didn’t work’: Musk’s sarcastic take on Trump’s midterm setback

Tech billionaire Elon Musk on Wednesday (Nov 04) appeared to poke fun at conspiracy theories about election interference, making a sarcastic remark about his supposed role after Democrats scored a major victory in the US midterm elections.

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

The remark came as Democrats took control of both chambers of Congress, dealing a setback to President Donald Trump and his Republican allies. Musk had spent nearly half a billion dollars backing Republican political efforts during the election cycle.

In another post, Musk also appeared to make a sarcastic reference to the Democratic victory in Texas, where Gina Hinojosa, an opponent of data centre expansion, secured a surprise win.

“Data centres in space looking pretty appealing right now,” he wrote on X, seemingly hinting at his plans for data centres and other infrastructure projects in Texas.

Musk's donations fail to prevent Republican rout

Musk contributed nearly half a billion dollars to Republican political efforts, making him the largest individual contributor in a federal election cycle since unlimited election spending was allowed in 2010, according to campaign finance tracker OpenSecrets.

Most of his donations went to the Republican-leaning America PAC and the Republican Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), a super PAC.

In September, the SLF used $158 million in donations from Musk to support Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton in Texas. However, Democrat James Talarico defeated Paxton, a close Trump ally, becoming the first Democrat to win statewide office in Texas since 1994.

Addressing supporters at a victory rally in Austin, Talarico took aim at Musk and other powerful figures he said his campaign had challenged.

“In this race, we went up against our own Goliaths. The richest man in the world, the most powerful man in the world and the entire Washington, DC establishment,” he said.

Also Read: China says 'willing to continue working' with US after Trump's midterm setback

Democrats take control of both houses

Democrats secured control of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to CBS News projections, ending Republican control of both chambers.

The party flipped several Republican-held Senate seats, including in Texas, Ohio, Kansas, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina and South Carolina. CBS News projected that Democrats had secured the four-seat net gain needed to take control of the Senate.

In the House, Democrats also crossed the 218-seat majority mark. Associated Press projections put the party at 225 seats, compared with 139 for Republicans, at the time of filing.

The shift will give Democrats greater power to challenge Trump's legislative agenda and scrutinise his administration when the new Congress begins in January.