Elon Musk's 'vote red' post vanished after Election Day

Elon Musk spent big on the 2026 midterm elections. A deleted X post shows how well those donations turned out. Annabelle Gordon/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images Elon Musk posted a simple Election Day message Tuesday: "Vote red today!"Americans largely didn't follow his advice. Then, it seems, he deleted the post.On Wednesday, hours after Democrats surged to tsunami-like wins in the midterm elections, that Musk plea to vote for Republicans vanished from his X timeline. Musk didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's questions about why the "vote red" post was removed.Early on Wednesday, as the results became clear, he appeared to shift strategy and joked on X about his failed midterm spending approach."Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn't work this time," he wrote. In a separate post, he said, "Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now."The SpaceX CEO was the largest single donor during this midterms cycle, spending more than $440 million to back Republican candidates. He also used X as a platform to deride Democratic opponents.Texas, where Musk has reincorporated both SpaceX and Tesla, was a particular focus. He spent $224 million to back Texas Republicans during the race, per The New York Times, and, on X, called the Democratic now-Senator-elect, James Talarico, a "far extreme leftist," a "creep," and "pure evil." Those posts are still live as of the time of publishing.The midterms could have major regulatory, contracting, and policy implications for Musk — and shares of both Tesla and SpaceX slumped on Wednesday as investors digested the election results. Data center companies are also flashing red. Musk is not the only Silicon Valley-to-Texas tech bro processing the collapse of a longtime Republican stronghold. Some "All-In" podcast hosts and Texas-based AI executives have started publicly mourning the midterm results. Read next Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Ben Shimkus is a reporter for the Business News desk. He writes about cars, transportation, retail, and jobs. Ben's reporting has appeared in Rolling Stone, The Verge, Automotive News, USA Today, AutoBody News, LGBTQ Nation, TopSpeed, and Out Magazine. He's also held staff writing positions at The U.S. Sun and the Daily Mail. He graduated from NYU with a Master's in journalism in 2024. Email Ben at bshimkus@insider.com or message him privately on Signal at bshimkus.41. Elon Musk Elections