Musk’s Millions Fail to Swing Texas as His Companies Slide
WHO:
Fast Company - Nathan Johnson defeated Republican Mayes Middleton to become Texas’s first Democratic attorney general since 1994.
Fast Company - Arizona incumbent Kris Mayes defeated Republican Warren Petersen; Wisconsin’s Josh Kaul secured a third term; Michigan’s Eli Savit defeated Republican Doug Lloyd; and Democrat Nicole Cannizzaro won Nevada’s open attorney general seat.
Fast Company - Stephen Cobb, Brandon J. Smith, Josh Golin, and K.J. Bagchi discussed state attorney general enforcement and technology regulation.
CBS News Politics - James Talarico spoke on “CBS Mornings.”
NY Post - Elon Musk, Democrats, and Republicans were involved in the election outcome and campaign spending described.
BBC - Talarico delivered an acceptance speech after a Texas seat turned Democratic.
WHAT:
Fast Company - Democrats won five closely watched attorney general races.
Fast Company - State attorneys general can investigate technology companies under existing consumer-protection, unfair and deceptive practices, and antitrust laws, including without new AI-specific legislation.
Fast Company - State AG investigations and lawsuits involving Meta, TikTok, Snap, Discord, and Roblox have helped push companies to change products and add safety features, according to Fairplay executive director Josh Golin.
Fast Company - Stephen Cobb said state attorneys general have become the United States’ “preeminent regulator and regulatory enforcer” over the last 15 or 20 years.
CBS News Politics - Talarico said: “The people of Texas delivered a crystal-clear message to the world's first trillionaire: Texas is not for sale.”
Financial Times - Legal shifts in Texas and Delaware have left the SpaceX-Tesla merger and Meta’s new non-voting share plan better prepared to fend off shareholder lawsuits.
NY Post - Democrats won big in the midterms, including pivotal seats in Texas.
NY Post - Musk poured millions of dollars into campaigns for Republicans.
NY Post - The headline said SpaceX and Tesla “plummet”; the article excerpt does not provide figures or further details.
NY Post - Musk said: “My election-interfering space lasers didn’t work.”
BBC - A Texas seat turned Democratic for the first time since 1988.
BBC - Talarico said in his acceptance speech: “We just proved that all the money in the world is no match for the people of Texas.”
WHERE:
NY Post - The pivotal seats mentioned were in Texas.
BBC - The seat that turned Democratic was in Texas.
WHY:
Fast Company - Nathan Johnson promised to refocus the Texas attorney general’s office on consumer protection rather than partisan political battles.
Fast Company - K.J. Bagchi said state attorneys general have become de facto technology regulators partly because lawmakers have failed to act.
Financial Times - The merger and share plan are expected to better withstand legal challenges after shareholder rights diminished in Delaware and Texas.
NY Post - Musk supported Republican campaigns in hopes of securing approval for his ambitious data center projects.
HOW:
NY Post - Musk sought to influence election outcomes by spending millions of dollars on Republican campaigns.
(UPDATED November 4, 2026 18:00 UTC)
Democrats won five closely watched attorney general races, including a historic Texas victory. Nathan Johnson promised to refocus Texas’s office on consumer protection over partisan battles. State attorneys general are increasingly regulating technology companies using existing consumer-protection and antitrust laws.
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(UPDATED November 4, 2026 17:06 UTC)
Democrats captured a pivotal Texas seat, turning it blue for the first time since 1988. James Talarico celebrated, saying Texans showed money could not buy their voices. Meanwhile, legal changes in Texas and Delaware may shield major corporate plans from shareholder lawsuits.
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(UPDATED November 4, 2026 16:03 UTC)
Democrats scored major midterm victories, including a Texas seat that turned Democratic for the first time since 1988. Republican campaigns backed by Elon Musk’s millions failed to prevent the Texas upset. In his acceptance speech, Talarico said Texans’ support outweighed all the money in the world.