Musk's empire faces Democratic scrutiny after midterm losses

Elon Musk's business empire faces a broad political challenge from Democrats following their midterm election victories, threatening his companies across regulatory, congressional, and financial fronts. The world's richest man confronts risks spanning government contracts, AI oversight, and his Texas operations. Musk spent at least $475 million on the midterms, with over 99% of traceable funds backing losing candidates, including a $160 million bet on Texas's Ken Paxton. Democrats plan to investigate his DOGE operation, government data access, and reported communications with Vladimir Putin, while incoming Texas officials have pledged scrutiny of state contracts. Tesla and SpaceX lost roughly $460 billion in combined market value after the election before rebounding, and Tesla announced Cybertruck production will end by mid-2027. Democrats are preparing AI safety legislation, while voters rejected data-center development in 44 of 45 local referendums.