Greg Abbott Appeals Order to Release Redacted Elon Musk Communications

Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) filed an appeal after a Travis County judge issued a temporary restraining order earlier this week requiring him to turn over all communications between him and billionaire Elon Musk.

Abbott’s appeal stems from a lawsuit his gubernatorial challenger, state Representative Gina Hinojosa (D-TX), filed last week. The order requires Abbott’s office to provide Hinojosa access to the records by 10 a.m. on Oct. 29, including all those that were redacted or withheld from public disclosure.

Hinojosa announced the lawsuit at a campaign event last week, claiming Abbott used his office to benefit his billionaire donor while withholding communications that could reveal details of their relationship.

“What this is about is the fact that Elon Musk gave Greg Abbott half a million dollars for his campaign and then received $1.7 billion in property tax breaks,” she said.

The lawsuit makes similar claims, arguing that because Musk owns several businesses and companies in Texas, the public has a right to know how the state government is interacting with him and his companies.

“The relevant communications bear directly on many matters within the Legislature’s responsibility, including state incentives, state grants, broadband deployment, public beach access, environmental impact, AI and data center development,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit also notes that Abbott’s office has already compiled the documents per a request from The Texas Newsroom, but all but 200 of the 1,374 pages were “redacted or completely blacked out.”

Abbott’s office has since filed an emergency petition for relief with the 15th Court of Appeals. They argue Travis County District Court lacked jurisdiction and that the move is of pure political motivation.

“This lawsuit is a baseless stunt and nothing more than an act of desperation. State Representative Gina Hinojosa is abusing her official capacity as an outgoing lawmaker for political purposes,” the statement said. “The Office of the Governor’s appeal automatically halts the trial court judge’s order, and the Office has filed a motion to dismiss the baseless lawsuit in its entirety.”