Texas Says It Won't Release Communications With Musk Because The Content Is 'Intimate And Embarrassing'

The Greg Abbott administration said it won't release communications with billionaire Elon Musk because their content is "intimate and embarrassing."

The communications were requested by ProPublica, investigating Musk's influence in the state Capitol. It explained that the governor's office said it would take about 13 hours to review the records and needed some $244 for the effort.

The outlet sent the money, but then the governor's office said it believed the records were confidential and asked Attorney General Ken Paxton to allow the documents remain private.

Matthew Taylor, Abbott's public information coordinator, said communications include "private exchanges with lawyers, details about policy-making decisions and information that would reveal how the state entices companies to invest there." Releasing them, he added, would be detrimental to such processes.

Moreover, he said that 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 governmental body."

A lawyer consulted by the outlet said it's unlikely it will get the information, claiming that due to a recent state Supreme Court ruling there is no way to enforce public record laws.