Greg Abbott mocked for saying his emails with Elon Musk are too ‘intimate and embarrassing’ to release

AUSTIN, TEXAS: Texas Governor Greg Abbott has found himself in hot water after refusing to hand over his months of communication with Elon Musk, claiming the emails are too “intimate and embarrassing” to release.

The Texas Newsroom, partnering with ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, formally requested a copy of all email correspondence between the Republican governor and the Tesla CEO, in a bid to investigate Musk’s influence over the Texas government.

Over the past few years, the 54-year-old tech mogul has expanded his footprint in Texas politics after relocating the headquarters of both SpaceX and Tesla to the state.

In May, South Texas voters even supported a proposal to officially establish Starbase, the site of SpaceX’s rocket launches, as a town.

Why did Greg Abbott refuse to hand over his emails with Elon Musk?

In April, Greg Abbott’s office agreed to release the communications but insisted that it would take 13 hours to review the emails, with a cost of $244.64 to be paid before the handover.

However, once the transaction was completed, the office refused to provide the outlet with the correspondence and asked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to keep them private.

In a letter, Abbott’s public information coordinator, Matthew Taylor, argued against the emails' release, claiming they contained sensitive details about Texas’ business incentive strategies, “privileged attorney-client communications,” and internal policy deliberations.

Taylor also cited common-law privacy, a legal standard that protects information that a typical person would find “highly objectionable” to publish and is not of public concern.

“The [Office of the Governor] asserts the information ... is intimate and embarrassing and not of legitimate concern to the public, including financial decisions that do not relate to transactions between an individual and a government body,” he wrote.

In response, the Texas Newsroom noted that the language used in Taylor’s letter is “fairly boilerplate,” echoing standard language from a common-law privacy exemption detailed on Attorney General Ken Paxton’s website.

The attorney general’s office now has 45 business days to decide whether to release the records.

While the content of emails remains unknown for now, a new letter from SpaceX lawyer Kevin Bagnall to Abbott’s office has suggested that the correspondence contains “commercial information whose disclosure would cause SpaceX substantial competitive harm.”

In another statement, Abbott’s spokesperson doubled down on the refusal, claiming, “The Office of the Governor rigorously complies with the Texas Public Information Act and will release any responsive information that is determined to not be confidential or excepted from disclosure.”

Internet ridicules Greg Abbott for claiming his emails with Elon Musk are too ‘intimate and embarrassing’

Greg Abbott has been facing public ire over his claims that his emails with Elon Musk are too ‘intimate and embarrassing’ to see the daylight.

“I'm so sick of the EPIDEMIC of a total lack of transparency in all levels of our Government & special treatment for the ultra wealthy,” one user blasted.

"Intimate and embarrassing? What was someone sending love letters to Musk?” another user mocked.

“Call me crazy, but MAYBE a government official shouldn't be doing anything intimate or embarrassing in their official emails. How about the public decides what is the concern of the public?” another user commented.

“Intimate and embarrassing?” What, did Greg Abbott offer to be Elon’s newest baby mama?” another person taunted.

“He’s a known crook and meat puppet on wheels for this fascist administration. Hopefully, soon he will also be a defendant at his trial for his many crimes against humanity,” a person wrote.

“Abbott rules as a king in a state gerrymandered and one-party power,” one more user commented.

“It sounds juicy, corrupt, and immoral, so the Republicans think the public shouldn't see them. Of course, this makes us all wonder what in the hell Abbott is doing on the job and while being paid by Texas citizens to work for them?” another one wrote.

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