Gov. Greg Abbott was ordered to release emails with Elon Musk. Most of the 1,400 pages are blacked out. [View all]

Source: Texas Tribune/ProPublica

Nov. 19, 2025, 4:30 a.m. Central


Months after fighting to keep secret the emails exchanged between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office and tech billionaire Elon Musk’s companies, state officials released nearly 1,400 pages to The Texas Newsroom. The records, however, reveal little about the two men’s relationship or Musk’s influence over state government. In fact, all but about 200 of the pages are entirely blacked out.

Of those that were readable, many were either already public or provided minimal information. They included old incorporation records for Musk’s rocket company SpaceX, a couple of agendas for the governor’s committee on aerospace and aviation, emails regarding a state grant awarded to SpaceX and an application from a then-Musk employee to sit on a state commission. One is an invitation to happy hour. Another is a reminder of the next SpaceX launch.

The documents were provided in response to a public records request by The Texas Newsroom, which asked Abbott’s office for communications with Musk and the businessman’s employees dating back to last fall. Abbott’s and Musk’s lawyers fought their release, arguing they would reveal trade secrets, potentially “intimate and embarrassing” exchanges or confidential legal and policymaking discussions.

Abbott’s spokesperson, Andrew Mahaleris, said the governor’s office “rigorously complies with the Texas Public Information Act and releases any responsive information that is determined to not be confidential or excepted from disclosure.” Open government experts say the limited disclosure is emblematic of a larger transparency problem in Texas.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/19/greg-abbott-releases-elon-musk-emails-redacted/