Elon Musk’s nearly half-billion-dollar bet on Republican victories in the midterms is a day late and many dollars short, but it remains to be seen whether the political investments of the world’s richest person have been in vain. The tech billionaire has donated at least $474 million to Republican candidates ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, Fortune Sasha Rogelberg reports.
However, Musk didn’t have much to show: the Republicans were defeated in Congress.
But it remains unclear whether he has lost influence among Republicans or is setting the stage for the 2028 elections. In fact, Musk could greatly influence the party’s future.
“Basically, he runs a political party,” said Alex Keena, a political science professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. “That’s one of the biggest influences of money. It’s not just about who wins. It’s also about setting the agenda and what types of issues we discuss.”
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Democrats’ victories will slow data center construction and force technology to the negotiating table after even Republican stronghold Texas flipped. -Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
‘Seismic’ Blue Wave Triggers Falling Oil Prices, Energy Stocks and Chances for Electricity Reform -Jordan Blum
How Maggie Sellers Reum Turned Investment Advisory into a Big Business | Daily fortune
AI
AI is a double-edged sword for US GDP and “a boon for countries like Korea and Taiwan,” says ING
One of the quirks of GDP calculation is the fact that imports are negative for growth, simply because money is sent abroad (in exchange for goods) and thus contributes to someone else’s GDP. So much money is being spent on tech equipment in the AI boom that it’s actually hurting U.S. GDP, according to ING’s James Knightley.
“While the United States recorded a trade deficit of $64 billion in September in technology products alone, out of an overall trade deficit of $105 billion, we must remember that this aspect actually hurts growth. Instead, it is a boon to countries like Korea and Taiwan,” which supply these products, Knightley writes.
“Technology products for data centers across the country have not only become exponential, but almost vertical. »
“This is a net negative for U.S. growth, as money flows out of the country to countries like Korea and Taiwan, from where U.S. imports have increased by 35% and 60%, respectively,” he noted. “Only three years ago, the United States was a net exporter of technology products! »
THE MARKETS
Blue wave sends stocks higher in US and Europe but floods Asian markets
US S&P 500 futures were up slightly this morning after the index rose sharply yesterday following the midterm election results. Europe followed suit at the start of the session.
But the “blue tsunami” today had the opposite effect in Asia, with the Korean and Japanese markets closing sharply lower. Traders led a wave of selling in chipmakers like SK Hynix and Samsung, believing that Democratic restrictions on new AI data centers in the United States could reduce demand for computing power.
Fact of the day: Total trading in the Kalshi medium-term forecast market exceeded $2.5 billion, up from $1.3 billion in 2024, according to Ben Freeman, Kalshi political manager.
- The S&P 500 farm 1.58% yesterday. Futures are on the rise 0.09% This morning.
- In Europe, the Stoxx 600 was on the rise 0.36% at the start of the session, and the British FTSE 100 rose 0.67% before lunch.
- Asia: South Korea’s KOSPI is falling 5.28%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 is falling 1.79%. India’s Nifty 50 is on the rise 2.4%. China’s CSI 300 Index is on the rise 0.29%.
- Brent crude fell to 96 dollars per barrel.
- Bitcoin went to $80,284.
At Anthropic, questions about the company’s business model
This chart explains a lot about the recent selloff in tech stocks, especially those related to AI. It shows Anthropic’s revenues compared to its operating expenses through the third quarter of 2026. The good news is that its net (green) losses decline, once you account for non-cash charges for the changing value of the convertible debt notes issued by the company. But the bad news is that Anthropic is clearly struggling to keep its operating expenses (red) lower than its revenues (blue). Of course, the company is still in its early stages. But until these green bars exceed zero, its pre-IPO narrative remains tainted by the fact that the the company does not yet have a profitable business model.
ISSUE OF THE DAY
0.4%
The percentage of the total addressable market currently claimed by OpenAI and Anthropic, according to an estimate by Brett Winton of ARK Invest.
If companies can increase the productivity of their corporate clients over the next ten years, they could generate $40 trillion in revenue, Winton estimates.
TABLE OF THE DAY
The average American is richer than he has ever been
You wouldn’t know it from all their complaints, but the average American is doing pretty well, according to these charts from Ben Carlson of Ritholtz Wealth Management. The data is based on the US Federal Reserve’s three-year study. Consumer Finance Survey.
“It is hard to believe that real incomes remained unchanged between 1989 and 2013.” Carlson writes. But “after adjusting for inflation, incomes increased by almost 30% from the lows of 2013.”
The median net worth chart is even more dramatic, given that the Great Financial Crisis took almost 60% out of stocks and 30% out of real estate prices.
TODAY’S NEWS
Microsoft rejects multibillion-dollar AI deal with Britain’s Nscale – FT
What Wall Street billionaires are saying about the Democrats’ midterm victory -CNBC
After midterm defeat, Trump faces bad options in Iran -Axios
Vance’s break with Trump over Iran follows weeks of suffering over war -WSJ
Democrats’ warning to ‘hire a lawyer’ reverberates in Washington -Bloomberg
Shares of Truth Social’s parent company hit new low – New York Times
Trump plans to make Pete Hegseth the frontrunner in crushing Republican midterm defeat: ‘The knives are definitely out’ – New York Post
ONE MORE THING
Elon Musk’s net worth fell by $30 billion after midterm elections
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has made nearly half a billion dollars in campaign donations to the Republican Party this election cycle, according to The Financial Timesand none of his bets paid off. Additionally, shares of SpaceX and Tesla fell 7.6% and 5.7%, or about negative $30 billion, respectively, overnight after Election Day. Of course, these are wastes of paper. Stocks can go up or down. But most of the time, they’re down: SpaceX lost another 3.8% yesterday and Tesla lost 3.34%.
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