Elon Musk’s newest political foe in Texas is extending the olive branch after the billionaire’s election bet misfired spectacularly.
Newly elected Texas senator James Talarico said he was willing to work with Musk, despite the world’s richest man burning over $200 million to try and stop the state from turning blue.
“Like I said, I’ll work with anyone,” Talarico told CNN on Wednesday when asked if he would take Musk’s call.
The senator-elect added that his victory was a message to “every billionaire mega-donor” that power in the state could not be bought.
“We have a mandate the size of Texas. And I think the first thing we’ve got to do is get big money out of our politics so no billionaire, no trillionaire can buy our elections in this country,” Talarico said.
Musk reportedly spent around $224 million backing Republican candidates in Texas, much of which went toward Talarico’s opponent, Ken Paxton.
The SpaceX CEO also posted a stream of criticism and abuse about Talarico on X in the run-up to Tuesday’s election.
Musk, who has moved the headquarters of both SpaceX and Tesla to Texas in recent years, saw his big election spending backfire badly. A nationwide blue wave swept over the state, with Talarico beating Paxton, while Democratic candidate Gina Hinojosa unseated longtime Republican governor Greg Abbot.
Shares in SpaceX and Tesla fell following the results, wiping nearly $130 billion in market value from Musk’s two companies. Analysts have warned that the new Democratic dominance over Texas could upset the rapid AI buildout in the state and create fresh regulatory hurdles for SpaceX and Tesla.
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In a separate interview with NBC on Sunday, prior to his victory, Talarico also said he would be willing to work with his billionaire critic on technology and innovation.
“I was a fan of Elon Musk before he started spending $200 million against me, before he started to make reckless cuts to our federal government,” the Democratic candidate said.
“I’m a big fan of SpaceX, of Tesla. He is a great business leader, entrepreneur, and innovator, and I want him to stick to those things. I don’t like that he’s trying to buy the Senate seat in Texas; I don’t like that he’s using his wealth to influence our political system. That’s where I draw the line,” Talarico added.
Since the “blunami” gave the Democrats control of the House and the Senate, Musk’s X posts about politics have been few. One Election Day post — “Vote red today” — appears to have since been deleted.
