Gov. Greg Abbott was ordered to release emails with Elon Musk. Most of the 1,400 pages are blacked out.

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Texas Tribune/ProPublica

Nov. 19, 2025, 4:30 a.m. Central


Months after fighting to keep secret the emails exchanged between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office and tech billionaire Elon Musk’s companies, state officials released nearly 1,400 pages to The Texas Newsroom. The records, however, reveal little about the two men’s relationship or Musk’s influence over state government. In fact, all but about 200 of the pages are entirely blacked out.

Of those that were readable, many were either already public or provided minimal information. They included old incorporation records for Musk’s rocket company SpaceX, a couple of agendas for the governor’s committee on aerospace and aviation, emails regarding a state grant awarded to SpaceX and an application from a then-Musk employee to sit on a state commission. One is an invitation to happy hour. Another is a reminder of the next SpaceX launch.

The documents were provided in response to a public records request by The Texas Newsroom, which asked Abbott’s office for communications with Musk and the businessman’s employees dating back to last fall. Abbott’s and Musk’s lawyers fought their release, arguing they would reveal trade secrets, potentially “intimate and embarrassing” exchanges or confidential legal and policymaking discussions.

Abbott’s spokesperson, Andrew Mahaleris, said the governor’s office “rigorously complies with the Texas Public Information Act and releases any responsive information that is determined to not be confidential or excepted from disclosure.” Open government experts say the limited disclosure is emblematic of a larger transparency problem in Texas.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/19/greg-abbott-releases-elon-musk-emails-redacted/

[Initech]

1. The GOP is running a criminal racket to enrich the billionaires. They all must go.

Fuck Greg Abbott!

[evolves]

13. 100%

n/t

[Traildogbob]

2. Time to fill detention camps with criminal

Repubelickins. All lying thieves. Arrest them if they LOOK like GQP. Disappear them to Afghanistan. With American flag shirts and MAGA hats.

[Mr.Bee]

3. 1,400 pages are blacked out.

I imagine this is going to be what the Epstein Files are going to look like!

[efhmc]

4. Can someone explain to me how this is possible? I was told that no matter what people say the emails are still there.

and can be found and reconstructed. Not true?

[FredGarvin]

5. NSA has the emails

Not available to Americans

[reACTIONary]

17. The emails are still there....

.... a public records request results in COPIES of the records being sent to the requester, not the original records themselves. The COPIES of the original records may be redacted by blacking out names, addresses, or other information that is not required by law. The originals are not altered, deleted or otherwise compromised.

[reACTIONary]

18. Here are the documents, all 1,374 pages, sent to the ....

.... Texas Tribune in response to the public information request - so you can see how this was handled.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26089908-202-25-mcgaughy-document-for-release

The original emails were, of course, electronic records. They were copied into some sort of electronic file, then went through the redaction process. The final file was either sent to The Texas Tribune, or was put onto the documentcloud server for them. It might have been the Texas Tribune that put what they were given on the documentcloud server.

[bluestarone]

6. Destruction of evidence?

Investigation interference? Hope some lawyers get these fuckers.

[GiqueCee]

7. Sweet Jesus...

... Abbott never passes up a chance to show us what flaming asshole he is.

[Skittles]

12. he competes with DeSantis to see who can hump Trump the hardest

[GiqueCee]

16. And they're neck and neck...

... in the competition to see whose state will hold the dubious honor of ANUS OF THE UNIVERSE.

[Old Crank]

8. Sounds like contempt of court.

[onenote]

20. There was no court order relating to the disclosure of these documents.

They were disclosed in response to a records request under the Texas Public Information Act.

[Dave Bowman]

9. What are you hiding, Abutt?

[marble falls]

10. YOINK! State State Secrets!

[bsiebs]

11. Nice example of that transparency the MAGAts are always demanding...

[Bev54]

14. Why cannot the courts demand they either provide unredacted documents or

they simply lose their case because it infers guilt. This jacking around is ridiculous.

[onenote]

21. There is no "case" to lose.

The documents were not sought as part of any litigation. They were requested by a news organization pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act -- essentially the Texas version of FOIA.

[Bev54]

22. Well there is contempt of court, jail those who refuse to give information until they satisfy the court order?

[onenote]

23. No there isn't

Courts can't just hand out contempt citations. It has to be in the context of behavior vis-a-vis the court. And the request for documents and the response is not in the context of any judicial proceeding. There is no court order.

[cstanleytech]

15. Probably trying to cover up criminal activity or in other words it's the standard Republican operating system as usual.

[wolfie001]

19. 2-wheeled monster

Evil, cruel racist pig.