Elon Musk deleted an Election Day post urging Americans to vote Republican, after Democrats made significant gains in the 2026 US midterm elections.
The report found that Musk, or someone managing his X account, removed the post after Republicans suffered major electoral setbacks. The post was no longer accessible on Musk’s account when Snopes investigated. However, the report located an archived version that provided definitive evidence it had existed. The fact-check followed online claims that Musk had removed his Election Day message after the midterm results began emerging. Snopes also found that DuckDuckGo search results continued displaying a link to the deleted post. The publication archived that result as additional evidence and found that its timestamp aligned with the post appearing shortly after another Musk post visible in the recording. Attempts to access the original post instead returned a message indicating that the page no longer existed. Musk’s Election Day message came amid his substantial financial support for Republican candidates in the midterms. The party flipped seats in traditionally Republican states, including Texas, South Carolina , Iowa and Kansas, while making gains in House races despite Republican spending and redistricting efforts. Democratic control of Congress is expected to constrain Trump’s legislative agenda and bring increased scrutiny of his administration, while Republicans have vowed to resist Democratic initiatives.
The archived post had accumulated nearly 12 million views before its removal. The New York Times reported that the tech billionaire contributed nearly half a billion dollars to support Republicans during the 2026 election cycle. The Associated Press reported that Democrats won control of both the House and Senate in the November 3 midterm elections, delivering a major setback to Trump and Republicans.
Snopes confirmed that a screen-recorded video showing Musk’s post reading “Vote red today!” was authentic. The results reflected voter frustration over inflation, high living costs, government corruption and the Iran war , according to AP.
