Texas Releases Abbott-Musk Emails, but There's an Issue

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's office has released almost 1,400 pages of emails with Elon Musk's companies—though the vast majority are blacked out, per a new report from ProPublica. The release comes after a public records request from the Texas Newsroom, which sought to shed light on the relationship between the governor and the billionaire, who has moved several of his companies to Texas and lobbied for laws benefiting his businesses. Of the 1,374 pages released, however, only about 200 are readable, and those offer little insight, consisting mostly of routine documents like incorporation records, meeting agendas, and reminders about SpaceX launches. One is even an invitation to happy hour.

Both Abbott's office and lawyers for Musk's SpaceX had fought the release, claiming the emails contained trade secrets, confidential policy discussions, or info that was "intimate and embarrassing." The Texas attorney general's office ultimately allowed most of the records to remain secret. Open-government advocates say the episode highlights a broader transparency problem in Texas, where a 2015 state Supreme Court decision made it easier for companies to stymie the release of records by claiming they contain sensitive commercial information.

Critics argue the system now favors secrecy, with the attorney general's office lacking the power to verify if withheld documents truly contain trade secrets. As legislative carve-outs continue to chip away at what qualifies as public information, even the lawyers who handled the case were puzzled by the governor's decision to release thousands of pages, only to redact nearly all of them. "Every Texas citizen should care about access to these kinds of records because they shed light on how our public officials are making big decisions that affect the land where people live and how their taxpayer dollars are being spent," said attorney Reid Pillifant.