Elon Musk has steadily shifted more of his business operations and political attention to Texas since moving there in 2020. SpaceX has expanded its Starbase launch complex and built a major electronics factory near Austin, while Musk has also announced plans for a massive chip-manufacturing facility. During the 2026 midterm elections, he reinforced that Texas-focused strategy by directing hundreds of millions of dollars toward Republican campaigns.
Musk’s expanding Texas operations
Musk privately moved to Texas, outside Austin, in 2020 after a public dispute with California officials during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over the next six years, he became increasingly focused on the Lone Star State. In 2021, Musk directed more attention to SpaceX’s Starship program in South Texas and encouraged employees to move to Texas to work on the company’s future projects. 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 satellite internet 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 a motivating factor.
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 the project would be “a vertically integrated factory planned with more than 100 million square feet of manufacturing space.”
The planned area would be equivalent to about 1,700 American football fields, 15 Pentagon buildings, or three Central Parks.
Musk and Texas Republicans
Musk has repeatedly said that he supports Texas’ political climate, regulatory environment, and Republican leadership. Texas officials have also praised Musk and his companies. In July, Texas Governor Greg Abbott praised Musk before interviewing him as a guest host on The Sean Hannity Show.
Abbott said, “Thomas Edison is one of the most visionary figures of our time. Just as great, perhaps even bigger.”
Musk’s 2026 midterm spending
During the 2026 midterm elections, Musk became deeply involved with the Republican Party, investing nearly $500 million in Republican campaigns through his America PAC and other organizations, according to The New York Times.
Of the estimated $474 million in spending, nearly half went to candidates in Texas.
Source: arstechnica.com