ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of energy. Signal as much as obtain our greatest tales as quickly as they’re revealed.
This text is co-published with The Texas Newsroom and The Texas Tribune as a part of an initiative to report on how energy is wielded in Texas.
Elon Musk’s workforce of Texas lobbyists through the 2025 legislative session didn’t rival these of big vitality and telecommunications firms, which generally make use of dozens of individuals to characterize them. However Musk and his firms nonetheless employed extra lobbyists this yr than some other since 2021, in keeping with knowledge from the Texas Ethics Fee.
Musk, the billionaire businessman behind carmaker Tesla and aerospace firm SpaceX, influenced a number of new Texas legal guidelines this yr. How his lobbyists happened these wins, nonetheless, is extra of a thriller.
His lobbyists, who represented Tesla, SpaceX and the social media big X Corp., spent tens of 1000’s of {dollars} on issues like presents and meals for Texas elected officers and others through the session, in keeping with an evaluation of state ethics knowledge. Most often, Texas transparency legal guidelines don’t require lobbyists to reveal which politicians they wined and dined or on behalf of which shoppers.
The Texas Newsroom reached out to all 12 of Musk’s lobbyists registered with the state this session. Just one, Carrie Simmons, a lobbyist who counts Tesla amongst her shoppers, responded, however she declined to be interviewed. She mentioned solely Musk’s firms might touch upon their work this session.
Emails despatched to Musk’s firms and to Musk himself weren’t returned.
The Texas Newsroom was capable of finding hints of a few of their actions in data obtained from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and state Sen. Adam Hinojosa. Different paperwork detailing their deeper connections are hidden from disclosure by state legal guidelines.
Ethics consultants mentioned the accountability to enhance transparency lies with Texas lawmakers. State regulation offers a “base degree of transparency” for the general public on who lobbyists are and who they characterize, mentioned Andrew Cates, a former lobbyist who wrote a information on state ethics guidelines.
“Past that, the Legislature merely has not prioritized sufficient transparency in how the {dollars} are literally being spent on legislators regularly. However that’s not the foyer’s fault, it’s the Legislature’s,” Cates mentioned.
Tom Forbes, president of the Skilled Advocacy Affiliation of Texas, a statewide lobbyist group, mentioned whereas lobbyists generally get a foul rap, they play a vital function for lawmakers attempting to make choices on advanced insurance policies. He instructed The Texas Newsroom that his group is “agnostic” about making reporting necessities extra stringent however will comply with any modifications the state implements.
“Our affiliation goes to adjust to no matter regulation the Legislature passes,” Forbes mentioned.
Who did Musk rent and who did they foyer?
Eight of Musk’s lobbyists labored for SpaceX, in keeping with filings with the Ethics Fee. Tesla had 4, one among whom additionally labored for X.
Musk’s lobbyists embody former advisers and staffers for Gov. Greg Abbott, amongst them Mike Toomey and Reed Clay. One other lobbyist, Will McAdams, as soon as sat on the Public Utility Fee of Texas, which regulates the state’s electrical, telecommunications, and water and sewer utilities.
All however one lobbyist had different shoppers for whom they had been additionally working, making it harder to trace precisely how a lot spending went to additional Musk’s agenda. Benjamin Lancaster, a former legislative staffer, was solely on SpaceX’s payroll.
Lobbyists usually are not required to report their precise salaries, solely a pay vary. In keeping with Ethics Fee knowledge, Musk pledged to pay someplace between about $400,000 to just about $1 million in complete to his lobbyists for his or her work this yr. Half of them might rake in additional than $110,000 every working for Musk’s firms.
Every month, lobbyists report their complete spending. However state guidelines don’t require them to reveal who was on the receiving finish until the lobbyist shelled out greater than $132.60 on one particular person in a single day. This contains meals and drinks, transportation, lodging or leisure. Taxes and suggestions usually are not counted. The disclosure threshold for presents is $110.
Lobbyists additionally don’t must disclose precisely who attended occasions to which all legislators had been invited, like catered lunches for your complete Texas Home of Representatives or completely happy hours hosted off-site.
In apply, these guidelines imply a lobbyist might purchase the identical elected official a steak dinner each evening. So long as the day by day price stays beneath that quantity, they don’t must say who acquired the free meal.
Musk’s lobbyists spent greater than $46,000 on food and drinks alone for elected officers and their workers, household and visitors this yr, in keeping with state ethics data. None of them detailed which elected officers could have been on the receiving finish, implying all of their spending remained beneath the day by day threshold.
Jim Clancy, the previous chair of the Ethics Fee, mentioned it’s widespread for a number of lobbyists to divide a single invoice with a view to keep under the reporting threshold.
“They’ve 15 totally different bank cards within the deal to ensure that it’s all under the restrict,” Clancy instructed The Texas Newsroom. “The Legislature has to alter it. And in the event that they did, they wouldn’t get to eat without cost.”
A slate of ethics payments, together with a number of to require transparency into who funds mass textual content messages for political campaigns, did not turn out to be regulation this yr, in keeping with The Texas Tribune. In the meantime, legislators permitted a brand new regulation that can scale back the wonderful for former lawmakers who interact in unlawful lobbying exercise.
What do different data present?
Whereas lobbyists usually are not required to reveal which payments they focus on in personal conferences with officers and their workers, they have to observe their place in the event that they select to testify on a chunk of laws. That is how The Texas Newsroom recognized the 13 payments on which Musk’s lobbyists took a public stance.
The Texas Newsroom was in a position to glean some extra perception on lobbyist affect from data acquired by way of public data requests.
Calendars for Hinojosa, a newly elected South Texas Republican who authored a number of payments that may profit SpaceX and different aerospace firms, confirmed he or his workers had conferences scheduled with lobbyists or representatives from Musk’s rocket firm at the very least thrice in two months. Emails confirmed Patrick penned a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration supporting SpaceX’s means to extend the variety of launches at its South Texas rocket website.
Patrick was additionally invited to take a tour of the Tesla Gigafactory outdoors Austin, these data confirmed, nevertheless it’s unclear if he went.
Neither Hinojosa nor Patrick responded to requests for an interview.
The Texas Senate declined to launch different paperwork that would have make clear how Musk’s firms interacted with elected officers. In denying their launch, Senate Secretary Patsy Spaw mentioned communications between state lawmakers and Texas residents are “confidential by regulation.”
The rationale, she mentioned, is “to make sure the precise of residents of the state to petition their state authorities with out concern of harassment, retaliation or public ridicule.”
This might embody emails with lobbyists.
Lauren McGaughy is a journalist with The Texas Newsroom, a collaboration amongst NPR and the general public radio stations in Texas. She is predicated at KUT in Austin. Attain her at [email protected]. Join KUT newsletters.
