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Elon Musk’s Boring Company completes environmental assessment for D.C.-Maryland loop
Elon Musk’s tunneling startup, aptly-named The Boring Company, has taken a step towards its proposed loop system in the East Coast. In an announcement on Wednesday, the Transportation Department stated that the project had completed its environmental assessment, a draft of which will be available for public comment for the next 45 days.
Provided that the proposed project gets approved, the Boring Company will construct a loop system for the D.C.-Maryland route. The loop will utilize autonomous electric vehicles that can transport passengers at speeds of up to 150 mph, roughly the same as the maximum speed of Amtrak’s Acela train that also serves the area. The tunneling startup notes that the East Coast tunnels will be compatible with hyperloop technology as well, which will allow commuters to travel at speeds of over 600 mph.
The DOT’s new Non-Traditional and Emerging Transportation Technology Council, which is created to respond to projects like the loop system, will be studying the Boring Company’s proposed project. In a statement to Politico, the DOT noted that the council will be “reviewing the project closely to determine the scope of DOT’s safety oversight role.” The Federal Highway Administration, the National Park Service, and the Army Corps of Engineers are also cooperating on the loop’s review process.
Once complete, the loop system will comprise two 35-mile tunnels connecting Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland. The Boring Company notes that passengers should be able to travel from downtown D.C. to downtown Baltimore in around 15 minutes using the loop system. Proposed terminals for the project include stops in New York Avenue, northwest of D.C.’s Union Station, and in the Camden Yards area of downtown Baltimore.
The Boring Company is still a very young tunneling startup, but the company is already being tapped for several high-profile projects. Just recently, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed that he had been in talks with Elon Musk about the possibility of utilizing the Boring Company’s technology to address traffic congestion in some areas of Israel. Back home in the United States, the tunneling startup is also making progress towards the construction of a series of underground tunnels that can carry passengers around the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) campus.
While The Boring Company’s projects might look like regular small tunnels to the layman, the startup has actually developed a notable amount of innovations that are capable of optimizing its tunneling activities. Among these is the upcoming deployment of Line-Storm, a next-generation tunnel boring machine (TBM) that employs both conventional and electric systems. Thanks to this setup, Line-Storm is expected to be capable of digging twice as fast as a conventional tunnel boring machine.
Tesla and SpaceX shares fell on Wednesday after Democrats swept both chambers of Congress. The decline stood out as broader market securities recovered and turned positive, while both of Musk’s publicly traded companies lagged.
CEO Elon Musk already joked about the unsuccessful campaigning for the Republicans, but now the new party will make pretty drastic changes to how it handles Tesla and SpaceX, and those companies will adjust their outlook.
Let’s take a deeper look.
Tesla ($TSLA)
Tesla shares traded lower during the regular session after Democrats secured both the House and Senate. The stock was down 2.32 percent at around 1:45 p.m. on the East Coast, trading at around $389.30.
The pressure is tied to more than the raw scale of Musk’s political spending, estimated at $450–474 million this cycle with roughly $224 million directed at Texas. In that state, Tesla now faces a Democratic governor and a Democratic senator after Gina Hinojosa unseated Greg Abbott and James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton.
The Austin Gigafactory, Robotaxi pilot programs in multiple Texas cities, and any related AI compute expansion sit under a new state executive who campaigned against certain corporate subsidies and floated a moratorium on new data-center construction.
Federally, Democratic control of key committees opens the door to deeper examination of Tesla’s autonomous-driving safety record, federal energy-storage and manufacturing incentives, and the national-security implications of any combination with SpaceX.
Investors are also weighing whether the company’s historically close alignment with the prior Republican leadership will invite slower permitting, additional hearings, or tighter rules on Full Self-Driving deployment.
For Tesla, the political shift adds near-term friction around state permitting and federal regulatory approvals for autonomy and energy storage. A potential merger with SpaceX may face slower review even if it proceeds.
Core growth drivers such as vehicle deliveries, energy deployments, and robotaxi rollout remain intact, yet the stock now carries a higher political-risk premium that could weigh on valuation until the company demonstrates workable relationships with the new Texas leadership and congressional majorities.
SpaceX ($SPCX)
SpaceX shares also declined in live trading on November 4 following the Democratic midterm sweep. The stock traded at $134.97, down 4.49 percent. The drop occurred even as broader indexes stabilized, highlighting a company-specific reaction to the election outcome.
Musk’s large contributions, concentrated in Texas races that both companies lost, place SpaceX’s Starbase launch facility and headquarters under a new Democratic governor.
At the federal level, Democratic control of Congress enables greater scrutiny of NASA, the Department of Defense, and other contracts that support a meaningful share of revenue, along with reviews of Starlink national-security uses and any Tesla merger. Analysts have noted that empowered committees can hold hearings and request documents on these relationships.
For SpaceX, the results raise the risk of delayed contract awards, higher compliance costs, and tighter constraints on AI and satellite infrastructure expansion, particularly in Texas where a data-center moratorium has been discussed.
A merger with Tesla could encounter political friction that slows integration of launch, connectivity, and autonomy capabilities.
While Starlink growth and launch cadence continue as primary drivers, the company faces a more contested path for federal funding and state-level operations, requiring management to rebuild ties with the new congressional majorities and Texas leadership to limit the overhang.
Tesla’s new vehicle registrations in Germany rose sharply in October, nearly quadrupling from the same month a year earlier. That’s according to data from the KBA, Germany’s federal motor transport authority.
The KBA reported 2,932 Tesla vehicles registered in October, a 290.9 percent year-over-year- increase. For the first ten months of the year, Tesla’s cumulative registrations reached 47,742 units. This number is up 206.1 percent compared with the January-October period of 2025. These gains occurred against a backdrop of strong overall growth in the BEV sector as a whole.
Germany registered 94,086 new BEVs in October, a 79.5 percent rise that brought the BEV share of the passenger car market to 37 percent of the 254,492 total cars registered that month.
🇩🇪 Tesla’s new registrations in Germany nearly quadrupled in October, according to KBA data.
October: 2,932 units, +290.9% YoY Jan–Oct: 47,742 units, +206.1%
Germany’s overall BEV market grew 79.5% to 94,086 units last month. https://t.co/GMwNqsFAOC
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 4, 2026
Despite the percentage surge, Tesla’s absolute numbers left it with a 1.2 percent share of all new car registrations for October. Chinese competitors did record higher volumes, as BYD registered 5,173 vehicles, a 2 percent share, Leapmotor with 3,661 cars, which equates to 1.4 percent, and Xpeng had a 0.5 percent share.
Year-to-date through October, BYD edged ahead of Tesla with 47,961 registrations versus Tesla’s 47,742.
The October results follow a notably strong September for Tesla in Germany, when it registered 12,552 vehicles, an increase of roughly 269 percent year-over-year and one of its strongest monthly totals on record in the country. That month, the Model Y led all EVs and ranked among the top-selling vehicles of any powertrain.
The figures form part of a broader recovery in Tesla’s European registrations after an extended period of softer demand. While monthly volumes remain subject to typical quarter-end patterns and competitive pressure from both established European brands and rapidly expanding Chinese manufacturers, the year-to-date growth indicates improved traction in Europe’s largest car market.
Tesla’s Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg continues to supply the region, positioning the company to capture a share of the expanding German BEV market as overall EV adoptions looks to be accelerating.
In the early hours of Wednesday following the 2026 midterm elections, Elon Musk took to X with a characteristically irreverent reaction to the results.
“Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time,” the Tesla and SpaceX CEO posted, generating hundreds of thousands of likes and widespread attention.
The quip landed after Democrats secured control of both the House and Senate in a sweeping victory. Musk, the largest individual donor of the cycle, had directed an estimated $440–474 million toward Republican candidates and aligned groups—more than any non-candidate in modern history.
Much of the spending targeted Texas, where Musk’s companies have significant operations. There, Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott, and James Talarico ousted Ken Paxton in the Senate race.
Musk’s “space lasers” joke playfully referenced conspiracy theories that have circulated since the 2024 election, falsely claiming he used Starlink satellites or other technology to influence vote totals. By leaning into the accusation with a shrug emoji, he turned potential criticism into self-deprecating humor:
St. Clair says Musk told her he knew the 2024 election’s outcome erlier in the day — claiming he had “lasers in space” and had unleashed an “anomaly in the matrix.”
(She says she didn’t press for details, worried she’d later be deposed about it.)
(2/7)
— Matt Rivera (@rivera) September 16, 2026
According to .@nytimes reporting by .@KirstenGrind and .@mega2e, after appearing on stage with Trump on Oct 5, Musk texted someone close to him:
“I’m feeling more optimistic after tonight. Tomorrow we unleash the anomaly in the matrix.”
Then, an hour later:
“This isn’t something on the chessboard, so they’ll be quite surprised. ‘Lasers’ from space.”Important to remember that Musk just admitted to winning the election for Trump, that the House would be blue, and the Senate would be 51–49 for the Democrats.
It’s also important to remember that just days before the election Musk activated 265 low Earth orbit (LEO) V2 Mini satellites, each equipped with Direct-to-Cell (DTC) technology capable of processing, routing, and manipulating real-time data, including voting data, through his satellite network.
Now Trump is forcing countries to sign Starlink contracts in exchange for tariff relief. Do Democrats understand where this is heading? Does anyone in Congress tune in to .@jimstewartson? This isn’t just policy—it’s Musk and Thiel’s global heist of democracy. And Dems are out here sending texts asking people to chip in for midterms?
What midterms? A vote-flipping algorithm just WON the 2024 election. We have the data.
We have constitutional avenues to remove this entire illegitimate administration. Stealing an election is an act of rebellion against the Constitution—and nearly every individual currently serving has previously sworn an oath to uphold and defend it. Do you see where I’m going here?
See Starlink op-ed, attached.
This is not HUMAN generated data..@AmyMcGrathKY .@YourAnonCentral .@ellenbarkin .@JasonBassler1 .@SenDuckworth
— This Will Hold (@This_Will_Hold) June 8, 2025
He followed up with another post observing that “Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now,” a pointed nod to possible regulatory and infrastructure challenges for data-center projects in Texas under the new Democratic leadership.
Critics quickly highlighted the scale of the spending relative to the outcome. One reply noted that Musk had “dropped half a fucking BILLION on this shit and got dog walked,” underscoring the disconnect between financial outlay and electoral returns. Musk later shared a vintage-style “technical difficulties” image, extending the humorous tone.
The posts arrived as markets reacted: shares of Tesla and SpaceX-related entities dipped in premarket trading amid concerns over heightened scrutiny and shifting state-level politics. Democrats had previously signaled plans to examine Musk’s government ties, DOGE involvement, and business conflicts if they regained congressional majorities.
Musk’s response stands out for its light touch amid high-stakes political setbacks. Rather than offering a detailed defense of his spending or a sober analysis of voter sentiment, he chose sarcasm—consistent with his long-standing style of public communication.
Whether the comments signal a retreat from large-scale political donations ahead of 2028 or simply a momentary shrug remains unclear, but they captured the attention of millions in the immediate aftermath of election night.
Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX decline after Democratic Midterm sweep
Tesla registrations in Germany nearly quadruple in October
