The 2026 US midterm elections delivered a Democratic sweep of both the House and Senate, triggering choppy but notable moves across equities and crypto-linked stocks. Decision Desk HQ projected Democrats would win control of both chambers, while former President Donald Trump accepted the results and said Republicans would work with Democrats despite ongoing tensions over tariffs and the Iran war.
Tesla and SpaceX were among the most visible premarket casualties. Tesla traded at $381.04, down 4.38%, and SpaceX at $134.65, down 4.71% before the opening bell. Both names had already slipped roughly 1.8% in after-hours trading on Tuesday after Senator Jon Ossoff was projected to win reelection in Georgia. Tesla closed the regular session at $398.50, down 1.32%, while SpaceX ended at $141.31, up 3.62%.
Investors cited Democratic wins in key data center regions as a source of concern over potential limits on new data center projects. Elon Musk's political positioning also remained in focus: Bloomberg reported he contributed roughly $450 million to $500 million to Republican campaign efforts, and he had urged his 240 million X followers not to vote for Democrats.
The broader stock market showed a rebound after an initial crash. Dow futures surged 912 points, or 1.75%, while S&P 500 futures gained 0.8%. Nasdaq-100 futures lagged as AI-linked stocks weakened. Crypto stocks were mixed: Coinbase jumped 5.53%, Circle rose 4.36%, Strategy gained 3.72%, and Robinhood added 2.19%, while Block, PayPal, and MercadoLibre declined.
Against this political backdrop, Tesla and SpaceX remain in exploratory merger talks, with Bloomberg reporting a push to announce a deal by the first half of next year. Analysts such as Vikram Rai of First New York noted that while Congress cannot kill a deal on its own, an empowered Democratic majority may be able to slow it down, adding headline risk for both stocks in a blue sweep. Mark Hackett, chief strategist at Nationwide Funds Group, said emotion drives markets before elections, while fundamentals take over once they are behind us.
