Breaking
Texas Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa is softening her tone toward Elon Musk after campaigning against a SpaceX land deal. “We can have a strong working relationship with Elon Musk and his companies,” Hinojosa said in an interview with CNN on Thursday, two days after defeating Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. “But it has to be on our terms. It cannot be just running over the people of Texas, and that’s what changes now that I will be governor.”
The comments mark a shift from the campaign trail. In an October press release, Hinojosa said, “As Governor, I’ll protect our land and our livelihoods – not sell out to the highest bidder – because Texans deserve a leader who puts the people first.” She also attacked Abbott directly, writing, “Greg Abbott is handing over our land to the world’s only trillionaire. Let me be clear: Texas is not for sale.”
Details & Background
The dispute centers on Boca Chica State Park, a 1,000-acre coastal reserve at the southern tip of Texas near SpaceX’s Starbase launch site. A 2024 Cameron County Commission notice described a proposed swap in which Texas would give SpaceX 43 acres of the park in exchange for 477 acres nearby. In August 2025, the county approved a separate proposal allowing Texas Parks and Wildlife to sell SpaceX four tracts totaling about 1.9 acres, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission later approved that smaller deal.
Hinojosa has not ruled out the project, but she has asked state officials to hold off until she takes office. “This morning I was pleased to talk to the executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife to confirm that this issue was not on today’s agenda and to request that no action be taken out of respect for this transition,” she said Thursday. Her transition team did not respond to Fox News Digital’s questions about whether her view of SpaceX has changed.
Reactions
Musk appeared to respond with a pointed reminder of why his companies came to Texas. “SpaceX and Tesla have prospered in Texas, because we were not constantly operating under an oppressive and extractive state government,” Musk wrote on X. “As California became increasingly difficult, due to extreme taxes and overregulation, we moved our major domestic expansions and HQ to Texas.”
During the campaign, Hinojosa framed the land fight as a populist cause, writing, “This is the One Fight that unites us all: Are we going to be a Texas by and for the people, or is this the billionaires’ world and the rest of us just live here?” Her new tone suggests she now sees the value of keeping Musk’s companies, and the jobs and investment they bring, in the state. Hinojosa is set to be sworn in as governor in January, and the SpaceX land deal could be one of the first big business decisions of her administration.
Why This Matters to You
Texas became an economic powerhouse by welcoming employers that fled high taxes and heavy regulation in states like California. SpaceX and Tesla are two of the biggest examples, bringing jobs, investment and cutting-edge industry to the state. A governor hostile to that model could push companies to look elsewhere, putting jobs and future growth at risk for working Texans.
Hinojosa’s shift also shows the gap between campaign promises and governing. Attacking billionaires may win votes, but driving away major employers carries real costs once a candidate is in charge. Whether she follows through on her softer tone or returns to her campaign rhetoric will be an early test of how Democrats run a state that Republicans built into one of the most business-friendly in the country.
