# Elon Musk and the tech bros banked on Trump and lost. Humbled, humiliated: what will they do next? | Jonathan Liew

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/elon-musk-and-the-tech-bros-banked-on-trump-and-lost-humbled-humiliated-what-will-they-do-next-jonathan-liew/
- Published: 2026-11-09T16:48:18+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-09T17:04:38+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/nov/09/elon-musk-tech-bros-donald-trump
- Topics: Business, Politics

## Key points

- Democrats’ midterm gains challenged the tech industry’s political influence.
- Data-centre expansion faced voter resistance across the US.
- Tech shares sold off after the election results.

## Summary

Democrats’ strong performance in US midterm elections dealt a setback to Donald Trump and the technology executives who backed him, as voters challenged the expansion of data centres and the policies supporting big tech. The article argues that the result undermines the tech industry’s political influence and its vision of rapid AI growth with few safeguards.

In Texas, Gina Hinojosa defeated Republican Greg Abbott after pledging a moratorium on data-centre development, despite being heavily outspent by industry donors. In Ohio, Sherrod Brown made data centres a focus of his campaign, while 46 of 47 data-centre ballot measures were defeated. The article says tech shares sold off after the results, and notes that the political response to big tech has been less pronounced in Britain.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.