SpaceX and Tesla Sink 9% as Texas Election Fallout Threatens Musk’s Data Center Plans; Rocket Lab and AST SpaceMobile Tumble 13%

Two Democratic upsets in Texas are becoming a direct regulatory threat for two of the state’s best-known companies. SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX | SPCX Price Prediction) stock is at $123.99, down 9% early in the session. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock is at $348.74, also down 9%. Each decline adds to a post-election slide, and both stocks are falling on concerns about regulatory hurdles for U.S. data center buildouts after Democrats took control of Congress.

For SpaceX and Tesla, the Texas results matter more than the shift in Washington. Both companies are headquartered in the state, which elected a Democratic governor and attorney general on November 3. During the campaign, both winners took direct aim at Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his businesses.

Texas Officials Take Aim at SpaceX Data Centers and Starlink

Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa has vowed to put a moratorium on new data center construction. That pledge puts SpaceX’s planned data centers at risk, including the massive Colossal 3 just outside Brownsville. Attorney-general-elect Nathan Johnson said in July that he’d investigate whether SpaceX’s Starlink service was unfairly awarded rural broadband grants.

SpaceX’s AI Solutions & Infrastructure segment brought in $7.60 billion in Q3 2026 revenue, up 830% year over year (YoY), which makes computing the company’s largest business. Tech analyst Dan Ives, a bull on SpaceX and Tesla, stated, “It’s more with the Texas governor.” Musk replied on X on November 4: “Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now.”

Tesla has its own Texas exposure, because its robotaxis are concentrated in the state and could face more local regulation. Cybercab service launched in Austin on September 3, and Tesla’s autopilot software chief said on the October 21 earnings call that Dallas would be next.

Rocket Lab and AST SpaceMobile Fall Even Harder

Space stocks are under even greater pressure than Musk’s companies. Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) stock is at $45.76, down 13%. Meanwhile, AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) stock is at $30.89, also down 13%. Broad weakness in tech and chip stocks is adding to the strain.

Unlike SpaceX, Rocket Lab doesn’t sell AI computing. On the August 10 earnings call, CEO Peter Beck called orbital data centers “a real opportunity but I’m cautious on the scale.” That puts Rocket Lab’s drop in line with sector-wide pressure on space stocks.

Direct-to-device satellite broadband is where AST SpaceMobile competes with SpaceX’s Starlink, which ties the company to the same space infrastructure theme. In August, the company confirmed its full-year 2026 revenue guidance of $150 million to $200 million, a plan that depends on satellite deployment and carrier partnerships.

SpaceX and Tesla Run Broader Businesses Than Space Pure Plays

SpaceX combines rocket launches, Starlink connectivity and an AI computing business that sells server time to other AI companies. Starlink is the company’s most profitable unit, which is why the attorney general’s grant probe matters.

Tesla’s business model rests on vehicles, energy storage, robotaxis and the Optimus humanoid robot, with AI computing tying those efforts together. Megapack demand from data centers is extreme, Tesla’s CFO noted on the Q3 call, so the company also sells into the same expansion that Texas may slow (we featured seven suppliers riding that same data center wave, from power to cooling, in a free report you can grab here).

Rocket Lab builds and launches rockets and spacecraft for commercial and government customers, including the U.S. Space Force. AST SpaceMobile uses a partner-first model, sharing spectrum with mobile network operators to connect standard smartphones from orbit. Both pure plays rely more on launch schedules and contracts than on state data center rules.

Texas Data Center Fight Puts SpaceX and Tesla on the Defensive

SpaceX now faces the question of whether Hinojosa’s moratorium becomes binding policy before Colossal 3 moves forward. Tesla faces a parallel question over whether state or local officials tighten their rules on robotaxis as service spreads beyond Austin.

The bears can cite a Starlink grant probe, a possible data center freeze and Ives’s comment that “those Texas data center plans are a key part of Musk’s ambitions.” On the other side of the ledger, SpaceX swung to GAAP net income of $4.40 billion in Q3, and its planned Starbase Louisiana spaceport, which targets a first launch in 2029, gives the company a site outside Texas.

Musk’s reply on X suggests he sees space as a way out, but the Government Accountability Office describes running data centers in orbit as unproven. The Texas data center moratorium fight could keep pressure on SPCX and TSLA shares until it settles.

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