Stephen King took to X to explain why Elon Musk called Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico a “far-left extremist.”On October 25, 2026, King wrote in a post that Musk is "afraid" of Talarico since he has a “lot of business in Texas.”“Elon Musk is afraid of Talarico because he [Musk] has a lot of business in Texas. It has nothing to do with principles or programs; for Musk, it's all about the Benjamins.”This comes in response to a post on X by Musk, who called Talarico a “far-left extremist,” in response to a video clip shared by America PAC (the political action committee Musk founded). Musk has business interests in Texas and is motivated by financial self-interest (“the Benjamins”) rather than principles.Continue reading for more details.Why are Elon Musk and James Talarico clashing?Elon Musk and James Talarico are clashing over massive campaign spending and political influence in the 2026 Texas U.S. Senate race between Talarico and Ken Paxton.Born James Dell Talarico, he is a politician, Presbyterian seminary student, and educator who has served since 2018 as a member of the Texas House of Representatives. He is a Texas state representative. He won the Democratic primary and is the party’s nominee.Born Warren Kenneth Paxton Jr., he is a politician and a lawyer who has served as the 51st attorney general of Texas since 2015. Paxton is the current Texas Attorney General. He won the Republican nomination by defeating incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the May 26, 2026 primary runoff.Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk (C) reacts after being awarded the National Medal of Science during the Golden Age of American Innovation Summit at the Institute of Peace on October 08, 2026, in Washington, DC. - Source: GettyBoth Paxton and Talarico are the major-party nominees running against each other for the open U.S. Senate seat in Texas in the November 3, 2026 general election. Elon Musk has been supporting Paxton instead of Talarico in the 2026 Texas U.S. Senate race because Musk is politically aligned with Republican candidates and has funded conservative and GOP-allied political action committees.According to a report in CNBC, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla has funneled $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund and additional millions to groups like Texas PAC and Lone Star Liberty PAC in order to support Paxton. Musk formally endorsed Ken Paxton, stating that the political direction and future of Texas and the nation are at stake under the Republican platform.Elon Musk’s X post stating “Talarico is a far left extremist” is a direct reply to a post by Gunther Eagleman (@GuntherEagleman). He presents Talarico’s Texas House voting record as extreme and compares his 2021 voting alignment with Republicans to that of Jasmine Crockett.In a recent X post, Elon Musk called out Talarico, stating:“There is something deeply wrong with Talarico.”Talarico wrote in a reply:“There is something deeply wrong with a political system that allows one trillionaire to buy his own personal U.S. Senator.”In an earlier post, Talarico called out Elon Musk, saying:“In all likelihood, if you’ve seen an attack ad on your screen, that was Elon. If you’ve gotten lies in your mailbox, that was Elon… Elon Musk wants our land. He wants our water. He wants our taxpayer dollars. He wants his very own personal United States Senator. He is trying to buy Texas. But on Nov. 3, we are going to send a clear message to the world’s first trillionaire: Texas is not for sale.”In his response, Musk has posted about Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico 18 times in a single week on X, claiming that Talarico “hates Texas.” He also criticized his legislative record on gender policies and border security.