Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa is taking a more measured approach to Elon Musk after campaigning against a proposed SpaceX land deal. She says she is willing to work with Musk’s companies, provided they operate “on our terms.”
During her campaign, Hinojosa criticized outgoing Gov. Greg Abbott for considering a land deal with SpaceX, arguing that Texas should not give away public land to a wealthy business owner. Since winning the election, however, she has signaled that cooperation may still be possible.
“We can have a strong working relationship with Elon Musk and his companies,” Hinojosa told CNN on Thursday, two days after the election. “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.”
The dispute involves Boca Chica State Park, a roughly 1,000-acre coastal reserve near SpaceX’s Starbase launch site in southern Texas. A land swap discussed in 2024 would have transferred 43 acres of the park to SpaceX in exchange for 477 nearby acres, allowing the company to expand its launch facilities.
A separate, smaller proposal was approved in 2025. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission authorized the agency’s executive director to take steps toward selling SpaceX four separate parcels totaling about 1.9 acres in the park.
At her first news conference after the election, Hinojosa did not rule out the proposal. She said she had asked that no decision be made until she takes 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,” she said Thursday.
Hinojosa had previously accused Abbott of putting corporate donors ahead of working Texans by considering the deal. She described the land as not being for sale and questioned whether the state was being governed for its residents or for billionaires.
Her transition team did not respond to questions about whether her position on SpaceX has changed or what might prevent the company from acquiring the 1.9 acres.
Musk appeared to respond to the criticism in a post on X, saying SpaceX and Tesla had thrived in Texas because the state government was not “oppressive and extractive.” He said the companies moved major expansions and their headquarters to Texas as California became more difficult to operate in because of taxes and regulation.
Hinojosa defeated Abbott in the gubernatorial race and is scheduled to take office on Jan. 19, 2027.
