Tesla Falls to $398.50 as SpaceX Rises to $141.31 in Election Session
Key Facts
Tesla closed at $398.50 on Nov. 3, 2026, down from $403.82 in the previous session, while SpaceX rose to $141.31 from $136.37, according to EL7 data. The closes came on U.S. midterm election day, as investors followed races for seats in Congress. The session presented a different picture for each stock: the first fell and the second rose, despite market interest in both as companies linked to Elon Musk. Closing data alone did not establish that the vote or its results moved either stock. In the broader U.S. market, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose, while the Dow Jones fell.
The S&P 500 rose 0.36% in the Nov. 3 session and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.83%, while the Dow Jones fell 0.38%, according to a Reuters report. The moves show that U.S. stocks did not move in one direction on election day, while Tesla diverged from the two rising indexes. SpaceX, meanwhile, ended the session higher than its previous close. On the morning of Nov. 4, S&P 500 futures fell 0.8% and Nasdaq futures declined 1.8%. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury fell 6 basis points to 4.906%, according to Reuters.
The moves before Wall Street's open coincided with markets tracking the midterm election results. The Associated Press reported that Asian shares fell on Wednesday and U.S. futures slipped slightly, as global markets awaited results. In Asia, the Nikkei 225 fell 3.6% to 60,835.36 points, and South Korea's Kospi dropped 3.2% to 5,466.83 points. Samsung Electronics shares also fell 1.8%, according to the Associated Press. The agency cited investor concerns about elevated technology and artificial intelligence stock valuations following a rally fueled by AI enthusiasm.
On the election front, Reuters reported that Roy Cooper's early victory in North Carolina's Senate race gave Democrats one of the four net gains the report said they needed to secure a majority. Democrat Jon Ossoff won re-election in Georgia, the same report said. In a later update on Nov. 4, the Associated Press reported that Democrats had won control of the Senate, while control of the House remained too early to call; Democrats had flipped seven House seats by then. Congressional elections are held every two years and include all House seats and one-third of Senate seats, according to USAGov. The outcome in both chambers shapes the course of debate over policy, spending and oversight in the period ahead.
Reuters said markets may have been pricing in the possibility of a stronger-than-expected Democratic performance, which could lower expectations for further fiscal stimulus. Before the vote, investors were monitoring the election's impact on AI spending and debt-ceiling negotiations, with a Democratic win in both chambers potentially heightening concerns about oversight of the sector, the agency said. Investors said a divided Congress could increase the risks of a government shutdown and a confrontation over the debt ceiling. These are readings of how political scenarios could affect markets; they do not establish that those factors drove Tesla or SpaceX moves in the Nov. 3 session. On a year-to-date basis through that day's close, the S&P 500 was up 10.6%, the Dow Jones 7.7% and the Nasdaq 9.2%, according to the Associated Press.
Historical data offer investors context as they follow the election results, but do not determine the market's path in the current cycle. According to the Associated Press, the S&P 500 posted a positive return in the six months after every midterm election since 1970, citing an analyst at Edward Jones. In another analysis cited by Reuters from Ned Davis Research, the index rose for the rest of the year in five of eight cycles since 1930 in which the president's party lost control of the House. The median gain in those cases was 1.4% from election day through year-end, compared with 1.9% in all midterm election years. These comparisons describe past cycles, while markets continued to track the results' implications for spending, oversight and debt-ceiling negotiations.