After their success in the midterm elections in the USA, the Democrats want to launch several investigations in Congress starting January 3. The focus is on the administration of President Donald Trump and the business connections of the Trump family. According to available information, the family's fortune has grown by billions of dollars during the current term. The investigations are intended to clarify how these business dealings relate to the government's decisions.
The planned investigations extend beyond the family. They are also to examine alleged abuse of power by the immigration agency ICE, as well as unresolved questions related to the Epstein case, which are to be taken up again. Elon Musk is particularly in the spotlight. According to the reporting, he must answer for his role in DOGE, under whose influence more than 400,000 federal employees are said to have been dismissed. In addition, Musk is to be questioned about the war in Ukraine and access to Starlink. Thus not only political decisions but also the role of a private entrepreneur in state tasks come under the scrutiny of Congress.
Musk is one of the most influential figures in the government's circle and at the same time a significant donor to the Republicans. In the last election cycle, he reportedly spent almost half a billion dollars on Republican campaigns, according to available information. His net worth is reportedly estimated at nearly 800 billion dollars.
The reaction on the markets was pronounced. Tesla's share price lost around twelve percent, and SpaceX's more than six percent. Musk is said to have lost more than 100 billion dollars in market value as a result. The price losses show how closely the political situation and the valuation of his companies are now intertwined.
The dispute with the investigators has also already grown sharp. Musk publicly criticized the investigations, whereupon the Democrat Jim Himes rebuked him sharply. The entrepreneur holds both South African and US citizenship.
Musk had previously relocated his companies from California to Texas in order to pay lower taxes. Notably in Texas, in the recent elections the Democrats Hinojosa and Talarico defeated candidates backed by the Republicans. Hinojosa now wants to push through a moratorium on the construction of data centers, which would also affect some SpaceX data centers. Resistance to AI data centers is growing across the country, mainly due to power consumption, water demand and noise.
According to observers, the Republicans now face the midterm elections with pessimism. How the announced investigations will concretely proceed and what results they will bring remains to be seen.