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Last updated Thursday, November 5, 2026 — 3:50 AM EST
Elon Musk spent nearly $500 million, more than any person in a single election cycle, backing Republican candidates in the midterms. His largest investment, at least $45 million for Ken Paxton in Texas, lost to Democrat James Talarico.
Elon Musk said SpaceX restricted Ukraine’s Starlink access because Kyiv’s forces used the civilian service for offensive drone strikes, a claim Ukrainian officials dispute as connectivity is largely restored.
NASA said Artemis III, launching in 2027, will spend about 14 days in low Earth orbit docking Orion with test versions of Blue Origin’s Blue Moon and SpaceX’s Starship, a rehearsal that will also decide which lander flies the 2028 lunar landing.
Elon Musk said SpaceX had closed $40 billion in debt financing to buy graphics processing units for artificial-intelligence systems, with deliveries expected in the first half of 2027, and predicted widespread failures among smaller AI cloud companies.
Tesla shares fell 3% and SpaceX dropped 9% as speculation about a merger between Elon Musk’s two companies dominated Wall Street after earnings, with analysts questioning the deal’s logic and experts warning of steep regulatory hurdles.
Ukraine said restrictions on SpaceX’s military-grade Starshield terminals remain in place, with drones above 100mph still losing connectivity, despite President Trump’s statement that SpaceX had reversed the speed caps.
Special committees at Tesla and SpaceX are weighing a merger, Elon Musk said, even as CNBC reported he has committed roughly $366 million to 2026 midterm races and SpaceX has booked $6.78 billion in federal contracts this year.
Elon Musk said a merger of Tesla and SpaceX would be a good idea and disclosed that special committees have been formed to assess a potential deal that would combine the two largest private and public companies he controls.
