Elon Musk has adopted a war posture in response to looming threats of congressional investigations: If Democrats win control of Congress in next month’s midterm elections, Musk has signaled he is bracing for a fight.
“Live by the sword, die by the sword,” he said Wednesday in a post on X, responding to a Politico report that cited Democratic lawmakers seeking to investigate him.
“Those who pick fights with me should understand that I will find out who is really pulling the strings and come for them, not just their puppets,” said Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.
Musk’s battle-ready stance comes as a host of Democrats have said they are eager to wield the power of their office to investigate the world’s richest person should they win either chamber in the midterms.
As Republicans’ election prospects have soured, lawmakers are building momentum for probes looking into the tech mogul, his companies or the work of the U.S. DOGE Service, which Musk oversaw and which was instrumental in dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said in an interview Thursday that he would investigate Musk and DOGE if Democrats win. Blumenthal led inquiries relating to the cost-cutting group but was in the minority and did not have subpoena power, which could be used to compel the attendance of witnesses, as well as the production of documents and records.
“The American people have a right to know the cost, the consequences and the chaos resulting from DOGE and … what he may be concealing,” Blumenthal said. “There is a web of potential corruption here that needs to be explored.”
He dismissed Musk’s threats of retaliation, expressing surprise at his strong reaction.
“He should have nothing to hide,” said Blumenthal, adding that he would expect a Democratic chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to support efforts to investigate Musk.
Musk did not respond to requests for comment.
Diverging from many of his corporate peers, Musk has consistently countered threats with force. He has contested lawsuits, picked fights with powerful government officials and at times taken drastic action over business disputes, including changing his state of residence — and the locations of his businesses — from California to Texas.
But Musk has also acknowledged his own vulnerability in an unfavorable political environment, joking in 2024 about the prospect of going to prison if President Donald Trump was not elected to a second term.
Musk has also poured his resources into midterm races, eclipsing his donations toward Trump’s election in 2024. He is the largest individual donor in the 2026 midterm elections, putting more than $350 million toward efforts to elect Republicans.
Musk and others who carried out DOGE’s agenda face a potential slew of subpoenas, investigations and hearings after the midterms, in which Democrats are heavily favored.
Several other Democratic members of Congress have also raised the prospect of exploring Musk’s business or political ventures in recent days.
Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Virginia), a member of the House Oversight Committee, tagged Musk in a post on X.
“I’d just like you to explain to Congress and the American people why DOGE failed so miserably and why you then lied about the savings,” he wrote. “Will you commit to testifying under oath to explain?”
Disputed legacy
As an influential adviser to President Donald Trump last year, Musk oversaw the sweeping and at times chaotic U.S. DOGE Service campaign to cut costs at government agencies.
Staffed largely with young tech workers new to government service who were chosen by Musk and his circle, DOGE eliminated the jobs of hundreds of thousands of federal workers and accessed sensitive data on hundreds of millions of Americans.
Musk said that he aimed to cut $2 trillion in federal spending with DOGE, which ultimately claimed $215 billion in estimated savings. A Government Accountability Office audit found that the group consistently overstated its savings. DOGE took credit for lease cancellations set into motion before it existed, for example, and claimed savings from contracts that continued to exist.
Musk has at times issued threats of retribution on X, the platform he bought in 2022 when it was named Twitter and later folded into his rocket company SpaceX.
“There is a large graveyard filled with my enemies,” he wrote in a 2023 post. “I do not wish to add to it, but will if given no choice. Those who pick fights with me do so at their own peril, but maybe this is their lucky day.”
The entrepreneur mused about his fate if Democrats took power in a 2024 interview with Tucker Carlson.
“If he loses, I’m f—ed,” Musk said, going on to joke: “How long do you think my prison sentence is going to be?”
“There may be some vengeance on me” if Trump doesn’t retake the White House, Musk said in the interview, which took place before the election.
Should Democrats regain control of Congress this time, they will face pressure from some voters and activist groups to move on Musk.
Activist group Investigate DOGE has channeled the spirit of the Tesla Takedown movement, which staged anti-Musk demonstrations outside Tesla showrooms, calling for Musk and DOGE alumni to face congressional scrutiny.
Activists are asking, “‘How do we make sure Elon gets held accountable if Democrats take congress again?’” said Evan Sutton, a spokesman for the group. “Congress needs to get in there. They need to get their hands dirty. The American people need to know what happened.”
Some former DOGE staffers are already taking precautions in the event of a Democratic-controlled Congress, seeking to insulate themselves from the potential outcomes of ethics probes by attempting to button up their post-DOGE business dealings.
Though the midterms are still more than a week away, Musk continues to signal he’s readying a counteroffensive.
Responding to a video of the tech journalist Kara Swisher noting that if Democrats take power, he “knows what’s coming,” Musk had a simple reply: “Message received.”
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