Musk’s Tesla, SpaceX slide as Democrats take control of Congress

Shares of Elon Musk's Tesla and SpaceX fell on Wednesday after Democrats won control of both the US House of Representatives and the Senate in Tuesday's midterm elections.

Shares of electric vehicle maker Tesla fell 2.6% as of 10.30 am EDT (1530GMT), while those of rocket company SpaceX dropped 2.1%. Earlier declines cut Musk's estimated fortune by more than $60 billion.

Musk, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, spent an estimated $446 million backing Republicans in the midterms, according to the Financial Times. Much of that spending went to Texas, where both companies are headquartered.

Two candidates Musk backed lost statewide races in Texas. Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton to win a US Senate seat, while Democrat Gina Hinojosa unseated Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

During the campaign, Hinojosa called for a halt to new data center construction until state lawmakers give communities a say in where the facilities are built. The governor-elect also called for operators to show that their projects would not raise residents' electricity or water bills.

Hinojosa said in July that data centers were "guzzling up all our water, guzzling up all our electricity." SpaceX has plans to expand its data center capacity at its Starbase complex in South Texas.

Democratic control of both chambers could also bring closer congressional scrutiny of any effort by Musk to merge Tesla and SpaceX.