“Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time.”
That was Elon Musk’s sarcastic response on X to the blue wave in the 2026 midterm elections.
But almost a week later, Musk remains one of the few prominent Silicon Valley figures who backed Trump and his Republican allies to have publicly acknowledged the Democrats’ sweeping victories.
It’s no surprise that Musk spoke out, given his outspoken nature in general and his massive spending on Republican candidates. The sometimes trillionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX spent about $474 million on the midterms, a record amount, and roughly $300 million more than the next-biggest donors, Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, according to The New York Times.
Yet Musk walked away from the November 3 election with little to show for his money, especially in his adopted home state of Texas, where nearly half of his nationwide donations had gone toward losing Republican candidates.
As results poured in, Musk deleted his “Vote red today!” post on X, replacing it with “Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now.”
A generally muted response
While many of Trump’s Silicon Valley allies have remained quiet about the Democrats’ victories, some tech executives have addressed what the results could mean for their businesses—particularly the AI infrastructure boom.
OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar said the company would continue investing in AI data centers, even after voters rejected local measures supporting their construction in 40 out of 41 instances, CNBC reports. “When I think about the midterms, I need to keep thinking about how do we keep investing to meet that customer demand,” Friar said on November 6. “It starts early with having built relationships with all of the hyperscalers, and it will continue to mean that we raise capital.”
The day before, OpenAI announced a new commitment to pay for its own data centers, protect local resources, issue impact reports, and create local economic opportunities. The company billed the initiative, seemingly designed to ease concerns among communities and policymakers wary of AI infrastructure, as “Setting a new standard for responsible AI infrastructure.”
Meanwhile, Box CEO Aaron Levie told CNBC the results could raise questions about where data centers get built and how AI supply chains operate.
But on the broader political implications of the election, many of Trump’s Big Tech allies have remained mum. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang—all past Trump donors—have yet to comment publicly on the results.
The silence marks a change from 2024
When Trump won the 2024 presidential election, many of those same tech leaders were quick to offer congratulations, often on Musk’s X.
“Congrats to President Trump,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted at the time. “I wish for his huge success in the job. It is critically important that the US maintains its lead in developing AI with democratic values.”
Pichai wrote, “Congratulations to President @realDonaldTrump on his decisive victory. We are in a golden age of American innovation and are committed to working with his administration to help bring the benefits to everyone.”
Apple’s then-CEO Tim Cook echoed that sentiment: “Congratulations President Trump on your victory! We look forward to engaging with you and your administration to help make sure the United States continues to lead with and be fueled by ingenuity, innovation, and creativity.”
“Congratulations to President Trump on a decisive victory,” Zuckerberg wrote on Meta’s Threads. “We have great opportunities ahead of us as a country. Looking forward to working with you and your administration.”
Some Silicon Valley leaders welcomed the results
Not everyone in Silicon Valley has been so quiet. While the tech industry has shifted sharply to the right in recent years, several prominent figures, particularly those who backed Democrats, welcomed the results.
Take Democratic donor Reid Hoffman, cofounder of LinkedIn. “Voters made clear they demand a different kind of country,” Hoffman wrote on X. “Americans want an economy that can compete globally and deliver for them at home. And they made clear that they want leaders they can trust to fight for their constituents.”
Hoffman donated about $16.5 million to James Talarico’s successful Senate campaign in Texas, according to The New York Times. He also gave nearly $9 million to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, where Democrat David Crowley won the gubernatorial election.
Then there’s Lane Kasselman, the co-CEO of Blockchain who previously worked on Hillary Clinton’s campaign. “Contrary to how it’s portrayed in the media, people across the political spectrum have a lot more in common than they might think,” Kasselman wrote on X. “Whether you’re from my home state or my adopted state, most Californians and Texans aren’t that different: we love our kids, like clean air, want prices to come down and think Mexican food is awesome.”
Kasselman continued: “I’m proud to see pragmatism win in Texas. And with the most pro-crypto Congress in history, there’s a real opportunity to build on that pragmatism in Washington.”
Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, meanwhile, criticized the election spending of his fellow billionaires in a LinkedIn post: “As a successful entrepreneur, I have felt embarrassed by the billions that tech entrepreneurs and hedge fund managers have spent on—mostly Republican—campaigns this election cycle, in an attempt to buy influence and control over public policy.”
The election could have significant consequences for Silicon Valley, particularly as Democrats take control of Congress and questions mount over the AI industry’s enormous infrastructure ambitions. But while the industry’s Democratic supporters have been quick to celebrate, many of the tech leaders who enthusiastically welcomed Trump’s return to power have had little to say about his party’s sweeping defeat.