Texas' Incoming Democratic Governor Softens Her Tone on Musk as a Florida Republican Rolls Out the Red Carpet for Tesla

During the campaign, Gina Hinojosa made Elon Musk a villain. Now that she is Texas' governor-elect, she is sounding a different note. The Democrat, who unseated Gov. Greg Abbott on Nov. 3, says she can work with the world's richest man, as long as it is on Texas' terms ^[1].

"We can have a strong working relationship with Elon Musk and his companies," Hinojosa said in a CNN interview last week, Fox News reported ^[1]. She added that it cannot mean running over the people of Texas, and that things change now that she will be governor ^[1].

The Beach at the Center of the Fight

The dispute that defined her campaign involves Boca Chica State Park, a coastal reserve of about 1,000 acres at Texas' southern tip, next to SpaceX's Starbase launch site ^[1]. A 2024 county notice described a swap in which the state would give SpaceX 43 park acres in exchange for 477 nearby acres, and in August 2025 the state approved a separate sale of about 1.9 acres in four small tracts to the company ^[1].

Hinojosa campaigned hard against it. She accused Abbott of handing public land to the richest man in the world and vowed that Texas was not for sale, according to Fox News and Reuters ^[1][3]. She also sued Abbott under the state's public information law to get his emails with Musk, announcing the suit on the first day of early voting, Reuters reported ^[3]. The Texas Tribune noted that Musk was Abbott's biggest campaign donor this cycle ^[2].

At her first news conference after the election, held Nov. 5 at the LBJ School of Public Affairs in Austin, Hinojosa said she had asked the head of Texas Parks and Wildlife that no action be taken on any sale of the park during her transition ^[2]. She did not rule the project out, Fox News reported, and her transition team did not say whether her position had changed ^[1]. She takes office Jan. 19, 2027 ^[1].

Musk Answers

Musk has not been quiet. In a post on X on Nov. 7, he said SpaceX and Tesla prospered in Texas "because we were not constantly operating under an oppressive and extractive state," Tesla North reported, and he blamed California's taxes and regulations for driving his expansions to Texas in the first place ^[6][1]. After the election, he posted that data centers in space were looking pretty appealing, Reuters reported ^[3].

Musk's footprint in the state is enormous. Tesla moved its headquarters to Austin in 2021, and its Giga Texas plant builds the Model Y and the Cybertruck ^[6]. SpaceX's Starbase complex at Boca Chica is the home of the Starship program, and the Federal Aviation Administration opened a new environmental review of a proposed expansion there last month ^[1]. Musk has not announced any plan to leave Texas ^[6].

Florida Makes Its Pitch

One Florida Republican sees an opening. Rep. Carlos Giménez, a former Miami-Dade mayor, sent Musk a letter dated Nov. 9 inviting him to move Tesla's headquarters to Florida, Tesla North reported ^[6]. "Florida is rolling out the red carpet for innovation, investment, and job creation," Giménez said in a statement ^[4].

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Giménez pointed to the recent election of self-described Democratic Socialists in Texas and warned of politically motivated investigations, American Bazaar reported ^[5]. He pitched Florida's lower taxes, responsible regulation, infrastructure and workforce, and the state's access to markets in Latin America and the Caribbean ^[5][6]. His letter named Tesla, not SpaceX ^[4].

Why It Matters

Texas did not become the destination of choice for Tesla, SpaceX and countless other employers by accident. Low taxes, a light regulatory touch and a welcome mat for builders made the state an engine of American jobs while California drove companies away. Hinojosa's softer tone suggests she understands that.

The question is whether "on our terms" means reasonable stewardship of a public beach, or the start of the kind of political pressure that sends businesses packing. Democrats will hold the governor's office and other statewide posts in Austin come January ^[5]. Florida, for its part, has made clear it will happily take whatever Texas no longer wants. Texans will be watching to see whether their new governor keeps the Lone Star State open for business.