TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas – A Travis County judge has ordered Gov. Greg Abbott to stop blocking his Democratic opponent for Texas governor from viewing his private communications with Elon Musk, just days before the Nov. 3 election.
State Rep. Gina Hinojosa filed suit against Abbott on Oct. 19 after he refused to hand over records she requested under the Texas Public Information Act.
Travis County court records show a judge granted a temporary restraining order Monday in favor of Hinojosa, a Democrat currently representing Austin’s House District 49.
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Hinojosa had requested access to the same Abbott-Musk communications previously sought by The Texas Newsroom.
Abbott’s office produced 1,374 pages in response to that earlier request, but nearly all were blacked out, according to her lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that Abbott argued some of the communications were “intimate and embarrassing.”
Under Texas law, a sitting legislator can request government records, including confidential ones, for legislative purposes.
Abbott’s office acknowledged it had already collected and assembled the documents but still refused to let Hinojosa inspect them, the lawsuit alleges.
Hinojosa’s lawsuit details an extensive financial relationship between Abbott and Musk, including more than $54 million in state grants to SpaceX, $1.7 billion in school tax breaks for Musk’s Terafab project, and at least $500,000 in direct contributions from Musk to Abbott.
The lawsuit also notes Musk asked Abbott if he would “have his back.” According to the filing, Abbott responded, “I said 100%.” The next day Musk filed paperwork to reincorporate SpaceX in Texas.
Hinojosa is not seeking to make the communications public. Texas law would require her to keep any confidential records private and allows Abbott to require a confidentiality agreement before inspection.
A hearing on a temporary injunction has been set. Abbott’s office has not yet responded publicly to the court order.
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