Musk warns of democracy's end if Democrats win 2026 midterms

Elon Musk warned on Friday that American democracy would end if Democrats retake control of Congress.

The tech billionaire posted on X that a Democratic victory in the 2026 midterms and a 2028 presidential win would turn the United States into a permanent one-party state. He stated that this outcome would mean the end of democracy in any meaningful sense. Musk said the only way to prevent this scenario is for Republicans to hold 51 Senate seats in 2029. He urged voters to support Republican senators in the upcoming election.

Musk has become the largest known donor in the current midterm cycle. He has spent more than $446 million to help maintain Republican majorities in Congress. On Friday, he argued that voting for Democrats through the standard electoral process would destroy the democratic system. He listed three specific concerns about a potential Democratic majority. He said Democrats would admit Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., as states. He also said they would expand the Supreme Court and grant voting rights to everyone living in the country illegally.

Musk serves as a special government employee under President Donald Trump. Last year, he oversaw the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. That office helped reduce the size of federal agencies, including the Department of Education. Musk’s companies hold billions of dollars in federal contracts. Critics have accused him of weakening regulatory agencies that were investigating his businesses. Earlier this month, he expressed concern that lawmakers might investigate him if Democrats won the midterms.

The CEO previously made similar claims before the 2024 election. He said democracy would end if Trump did not win that race. He spent more than $250 million to help reelect the president. Trump recently displayed a line of Tesla vehicles on White House grounds. The two men had a brief falling out last year over government files related to Jeffrey Epstein. They have since reconciled, and Musk now provides the administration with access to his Starlink satellite network. Those satellite services were recently slowed in Ukraine, a move Musk admitted he ordered.

President Trump faces low approval ratings due to rising costs and his conflict with Iran. Representative Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, suggested on X that the GOP deserves a poor showing in the midterms. Massie was ousted from the party alongside Marjorie Taylor Greene after they pushed for transparency in the Epstein case. He replied directly to Musk’s post. He wrote that Republicans let Trump start a war and increase spending. He said they armed a genocide and betrayed the MAGA movement. He added that he was removed with $30 million in foreign lobby money for refusing to follow the party line.