Texas Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa is sending a blunt message to Elon Musk and other tech billionaires looking to expand their empires in the Lone Star State: The days of calling the shots without answering to local communities are over.
Appearing on CNN Thursday after defeating Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in the midterms, Hinojosa said she is not opposed to technology companies. What she is opposed to is corporations taking advantage of Texas communities while facing little meaningful regulation.
“I hate the way they are taking advantage of Texas, and that stops when I’m governor,” Hinojosa told CNN’s Jake Tapper.
Her comments come after Musk poured roughly $446 million into supporting Republicans during the midterms — only to see Democrats win both chambers of the Texas Legislature and Hinojosa unseat Abbott.
Hinojosa made clear that working with major technology companies is still on the table. But she wants local residents to have real negotiating power when companies come knocking, particularly in rural communities where massive data center projects are moving forward.
“Different communities have different needs,” she said. “And those communities have to be able to walk away from the table to leverage what they need for their communities.”
Corporations should not get to dictate the terms while the people living with the consequences are left out of the conversation.
Musk has a particularly large stake in Texas, where his companies have major operations and where he continues to push for more infrastructure to support artificial intelligence and other technology ventures.
One issue where Hinojosa has drawn a particularly firm line is Musk’s effort to secure public land at Boca Chica State Park for SpaceX operations.
Asked whether she would allow the land to be sold even if Musk threatened to move operations elsewhere, Hinojosa didn’t hesitate.
“Selling our beach to Elon Musk is just something that is almost unimaginable,” she said, adding simply: “It’s unacceptable.”
She also took aim at the unchecked expansion of data centers, pointing to the lack of protections for Texans as companies move into mostly rural areas.
Tapper noted that CNN polling found 75% of Texans oppose data centers in their communities and asked how Hinojosa would balance those concerns against the potential economic benefits.
Hinojosa said Texas can remain pro-business without allowing corporations to run roughshod over residents.
Her plan includes an immediate moratorium on new data center development until lawmakers can establish rules to protect communities. She has even urged Abbott to issue an executive order halting construction before she takes office.
“Texans are being taken advantage of,” she said.
The governor-elect stressed that she wants Texas to attract investment and maintain a strong economy, but insisted that economic growth cannot come at the expense of residents’ water, power, land, and quality of life.
“We can have a strong economy, strong industry and protections for the people,” she said.
And when it comes to Musk and the tech giants accustomed to getting their way in Texas, Hinojosa appears ready to change the terms of the deal.
