TESLA AND SPACEX LOSE $456 BILLION IN MARKET VALUE AFTER US MIDTERMS

Tesla and SpaceX lost approximately $456 billion in combined market capitalisation between Tuesday’s close and Thursday’s close following the US midterm elections, according to market valuations. Thursday afternoon trading put Tesla shares down about 11% and SpaceX shares down about 9%. Their combined losses had exceeded $420 billion by that afternoon. The declines accompanied a broader technology share sell-off, with investors expressing concern about potential congressional investigations into Elon Musk and stricter regulation of his companies.

Democrats won control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the elections. Musk contributed more than $470 million to Republican candidates and causes, making him their largest donor during the midterms, according to reported donation figures. Most candidates who received Musk’s backing lost their races to Democratic opponents. In Texas, where Tesla and SpaceX have their headquarters, James Talarico won the Senate contest against Ken Paxton, while Gina Hinojosa defeated Greg Abbott in the governor’s race.

Paxton and Abbott were longtime Musk allies. Investors’ regulatory concerns included possible obstacles to Tesla and SpaceX’s artificial intelligence and merger ambitions. Forbes estimated Musk’s wealth at below $800 billion after a decline of about $90 billion over the previous week. Its estimates had placed his wealth above $1 trillion following SpaceX’s initial public offering in June, and it continued to rank him as the world’s richest person.