Texas’ Democratic governor-elect, Gina Hinojosa, is striking a more conciliatory tone toward Elon Musk after campaigning against a proposed SpaceX land deal, saying she can work with his companies if they operate "on our terms."
"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," Hinojosa said in a campaign press release in October.
But having won her election, her tone has shifted.
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The governor-elect has hinted that she might be rethinking her relationship with Musk, underscoring the shifting considerations many Democrats critical of business titans are making as they prepare to govern and secure growth and investments for their constituencies.
"We can have a strong working relationship with Elon Musk and his companies," Hinojosa said in an interview with CNN on Thursday, just two days after election night.
"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."
Hinojosa’s public land concerns center on Boca Chica State Park, a coastal reserve spanning 1,000 acres at the southernmost point of Texas. The park sits just a short distance from SpaceX’s Starbase, one of its rocket launch sites.
A possible land sale to Musk has been in the works for some time.
A Cameron County Commission agenda notice from 2024 raised a prospect presented by SpaceX: a land swap. Texas would give 43 acres of Boca Chica to SpaceX in return for 477 acres in the nearby area so that the company could expand its launch facilities.
In August 2025, the commission approved a separate proposal authorizing TPWD to sell SpaceX four noncontiguous tracts totaling about 1.9 acres.
Last year, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission voted to approve that smaller deal.
"The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission adopts the Resolution attached as Exhibit A and authorizes the Executive Director to take all necessary steps to dispose of four tracts totaling approximately 1.9 acres at Boca Chica State Park," the commission wrote in its agenda records.
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During her first press conference after the election, Hinojosa didn’t rule out the project but noted that she had requested that the decision be stayed at least until she took 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," Hinojosa said on Thursday.
Notably, Hinojosa bashed outgoing Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for even considering the deal with SpaceX, framing it as a capitulation to America’s wealthiest business owner.
"After 12 years of selling out Texas to his corporate donors and making working people foot the bill, Greg Abbott is handing over our land to the world’s only trillionaire. Let me be clear: Texas is not for sale," Hinojosa wrote.
"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?"
Hinojosa’s transition team did not respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital on whether the governor-elect’s outlook had changed regarding SpaceX or its ongoing negotiations with Texas.
It also did not respond to questions about what considerations might prevent Musk from securing the 1.9 acres.
Even so, Hinojosa’s language surrounding the land sale seemed to spark blowback from Musk. In a cryptic post to social media, Musk noted that he had relocated his company to Texas because of the state’s commitment to pro-business policies.
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"SpaceX and Tesla have prospered in Texas, because we were not constantly operating under an oppressive and extractive state government," Musk said in a post to X.
"As California became increasingly difficult, due to extreme taxes and overregulation, we moved our major domestic expansions and HQ to Texas," he added.
Having secured her gubernatorial election win over Abbott, Hinojosa will take the oath of office on Jan. 19, 2027.