The Incoming Democrat Governor of Texas Is Already Going After Elon Musk
8th November 2026
Texas Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa (D-TX) has asked the state’s parks department to hold off on a proposed sale of state land to SpaceX until she takes office, contacting the department’s executive director before she is sworn in this January. The move puts part of Elon Musk’s expansion plans in South Texas on hold.
Investors reacted the morning after the vote. Tesla and SpaceX each fell nearly 6% in premarket trading on Wednesday. Musk had spent heavily to prevent that outcome. The billionaire, one of the Republican Party’s largest donors, had given more than $445 million to Republican candidates and causes this cycle and urged his followers on X to vote against Democrats. About $190 million of it went into Ken Paxton’s (R-TX) race for the U.S. Senate, most of it through the Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC aligned with Senate Republican leaders.
The sale under discussion covers about 1,300 acres of public land in Cameron County, including Boca Chica State Park, which covers about 1,055 acres and sits next to SpaceX’s Starbase rocket facility. Acquiring the land would allow SpaceX to expand its operations at the site, which serves as the company’s main launch and production hub for its Starship program.