Tesla and SpaceX Lose $456 Billion in Market Value Since Election Night, Musk's Fortune Falls Below $800 Billion

Since Democrats won both chambers of Congress and the Texas governor's mansion on Tuesday, Nov. 3, the slide in Elon Musk's two main companies has deepened well beyond the pre-market dip. By Thursday's close, Tesla and SpaceX had lost about $456 billion in combined market value.

The combined cap fell from roughly $3.5 trillion on election night to about $3.04 trillion on Thursday night, according to Fortune's analysis. SpaceX now sits at about $1.68 trillion, roughly 87% of its Tuesday value. Tesla is at about $1.36 trillion, roughly 86%.

How the two days played out

Wednesday's damage was modest. Tesla closed down 3.3% and SpaceX down 3.8%, while the S&P 500 rose 1.6% and the Dow gained 3%, its best post-midterm day in 44 years. Amazon jumped 6.1% and Apple 5.3%, so Musk's companies lagged a rising market.

Thursday was worse. Both stocks dropped sharply in the afternoon, SpaceX by about 9% and Tesla by about 11%, as the Dow gave back 2.9% and investors dumped AI-linked names such as AMD and Micron.

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index put Musk's two-day loss at about $113 billion: $33.5 billion on Wednesday and $79.7 billion on Thursday. Business Insider, citing the same index, said he was worth $865 billion at Wednesday's close. Forbes has his fortune below $800 billion, down about $90 billion in a week. It topped $1 trillion after SpaceX's June IPO.

He is still the richest person in the world by a wide margin. Bezos was at $375 billion at Wednesday's close, per Bloomberg.

The Texas problem

Musk spent heavily to avoid this outcome. Estimates of his midterm giving vary by source: at least $445 million per the AP, at least $446 million per Business Insider, more than $470 million per the Financial Times, and a range of $427.5 million to $483 million in Fortune's tally.

Most of the candidates he backed lost. In Texas, where both Tesla and SpaceX are headquartered, Democrats James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa beat Attorney General Ken Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott. The AP says Musk spent at least $5 million on Abbott's reelection and that Paxton effectively benefited from $158 million of Musk's spending.

Deutsche Bank analysts flagged the practical risk in a note on Wednesday. Hinojosa "made data centers a major campaign issue," they wrote, calling for "a moratorium on new approvals until the legislature passes stronger protections on water use, electricity costs, local control, and incentives."

Tesla and SpaceX are planning Terafab, a data center and chip factory complex in Grimes County, Texas. SpaceX also plans a supercomputer at Starbase, according to company job listings. Deutsche Bank said SpaceX's Texas compute capacity could face delays and that capital spending may have to rise to meet tighter rules.

Musk, for his part, joked on X that his "election-interfering space lasers" didn't work this time. He also wrote that SpaceX's plans for orbital data centers looked "pretty appealing right now."

Washington's side of it

Democrats have said they intend to look at Musk. Rep. Robert Garcia, the incoming House Oversight chair, has vowed to investigate "corporate corruption." His spokesperson told Politico on Oct. 20 that Musk's role in DOGE "is something we plan to investigate."

Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut has written to Musk about SpaceX's Defense Department contracts and its ability to restrict Starlink, after reports that Ukraine's military lost Starlink access without notice. CNN reported, citing an aide to a Democratic senator, that Musk and SpaceX have been told to preserve records on restrictions placed on a military version of Starlink in Ukraine.

No subpoena, charge or formal investigation of Musk's companies has been announced.

Texas Democrats have their own message. "This era of open corruption is going to come to an end," said Rep. Gene Wu, chairman of the Texas House Democratic Caucus. The AP's voter poll of more than 5,000 Texans found slightly more than half had an unfavorable view of Musk.

Election fallout or market-wide rout?

The timing complicates any clean story. Thursday's losses came on a day of broad tech selling, and the sources do not separate how much of the Tesla and SpaceX decline came from the market and how much from the election.

Keith Snyder, senior equity analyst at CFRA Research, told Fortune the move was a "knee-jerk reaction" that overestimates what Democrats can do. "Reigning in AI has been a stated goal of theirs, but you have to remember Trump seems to still be backing Musk and has veto power," he said. Snyder also said that "the nail that sticks out gets hammered first," a nod to Musk's profile in donations and at DOGE.

CNBC adds that scrutiny could also complicate a Tesla-SpaceX merger. Musk has promoted the idea and acknowledged it would need shareholder approval.

The open question is Texas. Hinojosa's moratorium needs a legislature that Democrats now control in the House but that has not yet acted. Whether the Grimes County Terafab and the Starbase supercomputer slip will depend on what Austin does once she takes office.