TLDR
- Tesla and SpaceX shares fell about 4% in premarket trading on Wednesday.
- The first dip, about 1.8%, came after Jon Ossoff was projected to win in Georgia.
- Decision Desk HQ projects Democrats will win both the House and the Senate.
- Elon Musk gave nearly $450 million to Republican groups before the vote.
- A Tesla and SpaceX merger is still exploratory.
Tesla and SpaceX shares were lower before the market opened on Wednesday as early midterm results pointed to a Democratic win. Both stocks were down about 4%.
Tesla traded at $381.04 in premarket trading, down 4.38%. SpaceX traded at $134.65, down 4.71%. Another report put the drops at 3.6% for Tesla and 3.9% for SpaceX.
How Elon Musk’s Stocks Reacted to Election Night
The first dip came Tuesday evening, after regular trading had ended. Both shares slipped about 1.8% when Senator Jon Ossoff was projected to win reelection in Georgia.
Tesla closed Tuesday at $398.50, down 1.32%. SpaceX closed at $141.31, up 3.62%. Neither close reflected the election news.
Decision Desk HQ later projected that Democrats would win control of both the US House and the Senate. Votes were still being counted on Wednesday morning.
Democratic wins in key data center areas also drew attention from investors. Some worried about limits on new data center projects, and cited this as one reason for the premarket drop.
Vikram Rai of First New York said before the vote that both stocks carried major headline risk in a blue sweep. He said Congress cannot stop a merger alone, but Democrats with more power could slow one down.
Mark Hackett, chief strategist at Nationwide Funds Group, said emotion drives markets before elections. He said fundamentals take over once the votes are in.
Musk’s Political Ties and the Merger Plan
Musk gave nearly $450 million to Republican groups ahead of the midterms, according to Bloomberg. Another report put the figure near $500 million.
He also urged his 240 million followers on X not to vote for Democrats. Musk was a White House adviser early last year and now co-leads a new Defense Department initiative.
Tesla stock has reacted to election results before. After Donald Trump won in 2024, the shares rose more than 90% in a little over a month, and the gains faded as Musk and Trump grew apart.
Tesla shares had climbed 34% from a late-July low before this week. Investors cited interest in artificial intelligence products and a possible deal with SpaceX.
A Tesla and SpaceX merger is still in an exploratory phase. Bloomberg has reported a push to announce a deal by the first half of next year so it can close while Trump is in office.
SpaceX went public in June and holds a market value of about $1.9 trillion. The company earns billions of dollars from US government contracts, and its stock has mostly traded sideways since its debut.
Both companies are spending billions of dollars on product development. Robotaxis, robots and Mars colonies are still years away from showing up in their income statements.
Tesla was quoted at $381.04 and SpaceX at $134.65 in Wednesday’s premarket session as the midterm count continued.
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