Elon Musk’s ties to Texas have deepened since he moved there in 2020, as SpaceX expanded its operations in the state and Musk increasingly embraced Texas’ Republican political leadership. That relationship has now extended into the 2026 midterm elections, with Musk investing nearly $500 million in Republican campaigns, almost half of it supporting candidates in Texas.
Musk privately moved to the area outside Austin in 2020 after a public dispute with California officials during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over the next six years, he focused increasingly on Texas. In 2021, Musk directed more attention to SpaceX’s Starship program in South Texas, encouraging company employees to move to the state and work on the project. In March of that year, he began using the name Starbase for SpaceX’s production and launch facility near the Rio Grande.
In 2023, SpaceX built a large factory east of Austin to manufacture customer terminals and other electronics for its Starlink program. In July 2024, Musk announced that SpaceX would move its headquarters from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase, Texas. He cited California’s regulatory and political environment as motivating factors.
Since then, Musk has continued to expand the Starbase facility. This summer, SpaceX announced that TerraFab, described as “the world’s most spectacular chip manufacturing endeavor,” would be built in Grimes County, Texas. The company said it would be “a vertically integrated factory planned with more than 100 million square feet of manufacturing space.”
That area would equal roughly 1,700 American football fields, 15 Pentagon buildings, or three Central Parks.
Musk has repeatedly said that he favors Texas’ political climate, regulatory environment, and Republican leadership. Texas officials have also praised him. In July, Texas Governor Greg Abbott praised Musk before interviewing him as a guest host on The Sean Hannity Show, saying: “Thomas Edison is one of the most visionary figures of our time. Just as great, perhaps even bigger.”
Musk’s Republican political spending
During the 2026 midterm elections, Musk strongly supported the Republican Party, investing nearly $500 million in Republican campaigns through his America PAC and other organizations. According to The New York Times, the estimated total was $474 million, with nearly half going to candidates in Texas.
Source: arstechnica.com
