Elon Musk was not on Tuesday’s ballot, but the Democratic victories in the House and Senate have shifted scrutiny toward the billionaire and the companies he controls. NPR reported Nov. 4 that, with a Democratic majority in Congress, Musk and his companies likely face investigations into billions of dollars in government contracts. Democrats say they want to know whether Musk used his influence inside the Trump administration to benefit his own businesses and whether taxpayer money, government data and public institutions were put at risk.

The contracts include billions awarded since President Trump returned to office. During the four months Musk led DOGE at the beginning of Trump’s second term, his companies received at least $6.3 billion in government contracts, according to the Democracy Defenders Fund, a legal advocacy nonprofit. The organization said Musk’s companies gained at least another $10 billion in contracts after that period.

During his DOGE tenure, Musk was a part-time special government employee and therefore was subject to a federal law prohibiting covered executive branch and related personnel from participating in official matters affecting their personal financial interests. Richard Painter, a former chief White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, said: “SpaceX is a big contractor and gets a lot of money from NASA and the Department of Defense. If [Musk] touched anything that he knew would have an impact on SpaceX, he would’ve committed a crime.” Painter spoke conditionally; the report did not state that Musk had been found to have committed a crime.

Musk’s political spending also came under scrutiny. Federal election filings analyzed by OpenSecrets, a nonprofit that tracks campaign spending, showed that Musk gave more than $445 million to Republican candidates, political action committees and outside groups. OpenSecrets described him as the top donor in the midterms and among the very largest political donors in American history.

Texas drew particular attention because Musk has made the state a center of his business empire and spent more than $200 million there, according to federal filings, to support the Republican candidate in the Senate race. OpenSecrets said at least $225 million of Musk’s midterm spending went to Texas, including support for Republican Ken Paxton’s bid for the U.S. Senate and Gov. Greg Abbott’s reelection campaign. Both lost, and Democrats captured every statewide office in Texas.

James Talarico, who defeated Paxton in the Senate race, said at a campaign rally in Lubbock last month: “Elon Musk wants our land. He wants our water. He wants our tax dollars. He wants his very own personal United States senator. He is trying to buy Texas.” Musk also posted about Talarico. On Nov. 1, Musk wrote on X, “Talarico will vote to trans your kids.”

In his victory speech Tuesday, Talarico addressed Musk: “We just sent a message to every billionaire mega-donor, every trillionaire mega-donor, every corrupt defender of this broken political system in this state, in this country. Power belongs to the people.” He added, “The real fight in this country is not right versus left; it is top versus bottom.” As results came in Tuesday night, Musk wrote on X, “Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time,” followed by a shrug emoji.

Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) wrote on X, “The DOGE chickens are coming home to roost. Elon Musk waved a chainsaw on stage and laughed while firing public servants and gutting the services Americans rely on. Then he lied to the American people about the savings. He must answer for it under oath.”

Foreign-policy ties drew separate Democratic scrutiny. Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware posted on X that Musk’s links to Russian President Vladimir Putin were “One more thing to add to the list of questions for Musk when I subpoena him.”

U.S. Rep. Mike Levin of California highlighted that Musk restricted Ukraine’s use of Starlink days after Trump eased sanctions on Russia and began buying Russian diesel in October. Levin said Starlink and its military-grade counterpart, Starshield, are vital for Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, frontline communications and drone operations in its war against Russia. “How on earth did we get to this point? How is it possible that Musk can disrupt an American ally’s military operations whenever he chooses, maintain a clear line to the Kremlin, and face zero accountability to the American people or U.S. government?” Levin wrote on X.

Texas also serves as a base for Musk’s companies. Tesla’s corporate headquarters and a major vehicle manufacturing facility are in Austin. X, formerly Twitter, is based outside Austin; SpaceX, which makes rockets and satellites, is based in southern Texas; and Musk’s Neuralink and The Boring Company are headquartered in the state. Much of Musk’s estimated wealth is tied to his ownership stakes in his companies.

Even as markets rose Wednesday after the Democratic wins, SpaceX shares fell nearly 4% and Tesla dropped 3%. SpaceX was reportedly exploring several possible Texas sites for large data centers, while Tesla owns and operates its Giga Texas data center in Austin. In August, plans for a $16.8 billion SpaceXAI semiconductor fabrication project in Texas were announced.

Musk did not respond to a request for comment from NPR. The questions left unresolved by the election include whether his government role benefited his businesses, whether taxpayer money, government data and public institutions were put at risk, and how his spending and Starlink decisions bear on government policy and Texas’s results.