Protestors have gathered outside Elon Musk’s Texas home to have a party including a blow-up doll and a Cybertruck piñata after the billionaire poured money into mostly unsuccessful Republican candidates during the Midterms.
Around 60 people gathered outside the West Lake Hills home, filing out from two Fly-Rides party buses, for the street celebration, which also featured music, party hats, and snacks.
It came after Musk spent a reported $474 million on candidates in this election cycle, including $212 million on the Senate bid for state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was beaten by Democrat James Talarico. Trying to shrug it off, Musk joked on X, the social media site he owns: “Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time.”
He followed that up with an image reading, “Sorry! We are experiencing technical difficulties.”
Musk now faces new threats to his bottom line in places including Texas, where he has based himself and several of his companies. Musk spent at least $5 million to try to reelect Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who lost.
It was the first statewide win for Democrats in Texas in more than 30 years, and the candidates won in part by hammering Musk, the tax breaks and grants his companies receive, and his relationships with elected Republicans.
It was unclear if anyone was in the property at the time. Eli Cortez, 28, served as one of the protest coordinators for VOCAL-TX and helped arrange the “People Over Billionaires Election After Party” alongside protest groups Popular Democracy and People’s Action.
Musk tried to shrug off the Midterm defeats (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Wearing a red party hat and speaking to the Austin American-Statesman, he asked: “When’s the last time that we were able to celebrate an election?”
He continued: “We’re here celebrating Texans showing up en masse against MAGA’s agenda, up against billionaires’ interest in elections and celebrating real democracy.”
Musk had also used X to take aim at Talarico and rally voters behind Republican Senate candidates during the midterms.
The hour-long party outside his house featured a conga line to “Love Train,” speeches from organizers, and two piñatas – one made to resemble a Tesla Cybertruck. Both were smashed open, showering the crowd with candy.
Even as Musk’s money helped blanket Texas in negative ads largely against Talarico, the Democrats’ message was aimed at the heart of an electorate whose median household income of $85,000 a year is under a pressure test as the prices of gas, groceries, rents and mortgages keep climbing.
Outgoing Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said there was a point where the sheer amount of Musk’s donations became unhelpful to the GOP’s effort.
“You’re reaching the upper bound of the benefit of any of these dollars,” he said in an interview. “People are so turned off by all of the ads, and all you’re doing is running the same ad every single time.”
