Greg Abbott was ordered to release some of his Emails with Elon Musk. Most are blacked out.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott's office has finally released nearly 1,400 pages of emails exchanged with tech billionaire Elon Musk's companies, but most of the records are completely blacked out. The emails were obtained by The Texas Newsroom after a long battle with lawyers representing Abbott and SpaceX, who claimed that releasing them would reveal trade secrets and confidential information.

The documents reveal little about the relationship between Abbott and Musk or the extent of Musk's influence over state government. About 200 pages are redacted, while the rest are either already public or provide minimal information. The emails include old incorporation records for SpaceX, agendas for a governor's committee on aerospace and aviation, and even an invitation to happy hour.

Abbott's office claimed that releasing the emails would be "intimate and embarrassing" and reveal private exchanges with lawyers, policymaking decisions, and confidential information about how the state entices companies to invest. However, open government experts say this is a classic example of Texas' transparency problem, which has been exacerbated by a 2015 Supreme Court decision that made it harder to obtain records documenting interactions between governments and private companies.

Tom Leatherbury, director of the First Amendment Clinic at Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law, said that corporations are willing to assert that information is confidential, while governmental bodies are less likely to second-guess them. This has created a situation where companies can withhold records without fear of being investigated for potential trade secrets.

The release of these emails is also significant because Musk has invested heavily in Texas and relocated many of his businesses' headquarters to the state. He has hired lobbyists who have successfully pushed for laws that benefit his companies, making him one of the richest people in the world.

Releasing the emails was a costly process, with the governor's office initially claiming it would cost $244.64 to review them. Lawyers representing Abbott and SpaceX then sought to keep the records secret, arguing they would harm SpaceX's competitive advantage. However, the Texas Attorney General ultimately sided with Abbott and Musk, releasing only about 200 pages that were not redacted.

Experts say this is a classic example of how weakened public records laws can lead to more secrecy in government. The governor's decision to release thousands of pages but black out most of them has been described as "meaningless" by Leatherbury, who notes that it may have been an attempt to show the volume of records responsive to the request.

The Texas Newsroom has asked the Office of the Attorney General to reconsider its decision and order the release of the Musk emails. If a member of the public believes a government agency is violating the law, they can try to sue, but recent court decisions have made it more difficult to enforce public records laws against high-ranking officials like governors.

I'm kinda surprised that Elon Musk's emails with Greg Abbott were finally released . I mean, 1,400 pages is a lot of info, and you'd think we'd get some juicy details about their relationship or how much influence Musk has on the state government. But nope, most of it is redacted . It's like they're trying to keep secrets secret.

The thing that really bothers me is that public records laws in Texas are so weak . It makes it super hard for citizens to get access to info that should be public. I mean, what if Musk was using his influence to shape policy and decisions? We shouldn't have to guess or rely on speculation about how much he's really involved.

It's also interesting that Abbott's office claimed releasing the emails would be "intimate and embarrassing" . Like, what do they think we're gonna learn from a few happy hour invitations and incorporation records? It just seems like a classic case of government trying to hide something .

This whole thing with Elon Musk and Texas Governor Greg Abbott's office releasing 1,400 pages of emails is kinda fishy . I mean, the governor claims it would be "intimate and embarrassing" but it seems like they just wanted to keep some stuff under wraps. The fact that only about 200 pages were released while the rest are completely blacked out is pretty suspicious.

I think what's really going on here is that Texas has a history of being kinda tight-lipped when it comes to public records . It's like, corporations and their CEOs can just claim whatever info is confidential and then the government doesn't bother checking. It's not exactly what you'd call transparency.

And let's be real, Elon Musk is basically the richest person in the world and he's invested a ton of money in Texas. He's got his own lobbyists and they're pushing for laws that benefit him. So when Abbott's office releases these emails, it's like they're saying, "Hey, we're being super transparent... just not too transparent." It all feels kinda manipulative to me .

I guess what I'm trying to say is that this whole thing feels like a classic example of how public records laws can be pretty much useless when it comes to holding powerful people accountable. It's like, if you're a member of the public and you want to know what's going on in your state government, you might as well just give up because nobody's really keeping track .

I'm really disappointed in this whole thing. You'd think that public figures like Governor Abbott and Elon Musk would want their emails to be open for scrutiny, right? But nope! Instead, we get thousands of pages redacted because they claim it's all "confidential" or "trade secrets". Come on, guys! If you're really concerned about protecting your business interests, maybe don't do deals with the government in the first place. It's not like the public doesn't already know that Musk has invested a ton of money in Texas and is basically making it his own personal playground.

And I'm so frustrated by how hard it was to get these emails released in the first place. The governor's office initially said it would cost just $244.64 to review them, but then lawyers for Abbott and SpaceX wanted to keep everything secret because they claimed it would harm SpaceX's competitiveness. Like, what even is that? Are they really going to let some corporate lawyer dictate how transparent the government should be?

I think this whole thing is a perfect example of how our public records laws are getting watered down. We need more transparency and accountability in government, not less!

I don’t usually comment but I think it’s kinda weird that most of those emails are completely blacked out . Like, what's the point of releasing thousands of pages if you're just gonna redact most of them? It feels like a cop-out to me . The governor and Musk could have been all transparent about their meetings and deals, but instead they let lawyers do their thing and now it's all hush-hush . Open government experts are right, this is a classic example of how public records laws aren't working properly in Texas . Maybe if there were stronger protections for transparency, we'd see more accountability from our leaders .

I don't think it's fair to trash Abbott's office for releasing some info . I mean, most of those 1,400 pages were already public or not that revealing anyway . And can we really blame 'em for redacting some stuff? Trade secrets and all that . It's just good sense to protect sensitive info. And let's be real, the emails that did come out don't exactly paint Musk as some kinda mastermind of Texas politics . The TX Newsroom is being a bit dramatic if you ask me . I'm just glad someone was able to get those records, even if they were heavily redacted .

I've got some tea on this one... apparently Elon Musk has been playing the whole "Texas Governor" game for ages and Abbott's office didn't want that info to see the light of day . But let's be real, we all know how much SpaceX has invested in Texas and how many jobs Musk's created down there. It's a classic case of him pulling strings from behind the scenes .

And honestly, I don't really get why Abbott's office got so worked up about releasing those emails. We already knew he was buddies with Musk, it's not like this is some explosive scandal . Plus, think about all the other times we've seen politicians try to keep their dealings with big corporations under wraps ... it's just a game they play.

But what really gets my goat is that those emails were basically just redacted anyway . Like, who needs 1,400 pages of mostly empty records? Sounds like Abbott's office was trying to spin this whole thing as some kind of transparency issue . Give me a break!

so like I got this info on Texas Governor Abbott's emails with Elon Musk and yeah I'm kinda surprised that most of them are just blacked out... 1400 pages is a lotta records, you'd think more would be there. Anyway, it seems like the gov office was trying to keep all that private info under wraps, claiming it was for trade secrets and confidential stuff. But honestly, I'm not buying it . It just sounds like Musk's got some kinda pull on Abbott's office.

I mean, we know Musk has invested a ton in Texas and relocated his companies' HQs there, so it wouldn't be weird if he's got some influence over the state gov . But still, it's pretty sus that all those emails were redacted. I guess it just goes to show how hard it is for regular people to get info on what's going on in their government . We need to be more vigilant about these public records laws and make sure our gov reps are being transparent with us .

I'm not gonna lie, though... I kinda appreciate the Texas Newsroom for fighting for this info . It's good that someone's holding the gov office accountable and pushing back against all this secrecy . But still, it's just sad that we have to go through so much drama just to get a glimpse of what's really going on in our government .

I'm low-key shocked by this whole situation ! Like, I get that some info is private and all, but 1,400 pages of emails are a lot to redact from. And can you believe the governor's office claimed it would cost $244.64 to review them? That's just nuts . It's like they're trying to hide something .

I'm also glad that some experts are speaking out about this being a classic case of transparency problems in Texas . The fact that Musk has invested so much in the state and then gets all these benefits is sketchy, you know? And the governor's decision to release most of the emails but keep them blacked out seems like a PR move rather than an attempt at actual transparency .

It's crazy how we're living in a time where big corps can basically dictate what info is public and what's not . It's all about power and influence, you know? And I'm just over here thinking that we should have more open access to these records .