Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa Halts SpaceX Public Land Sale

Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa intervened to stop the proposed sale of approximately 1,300 acres of public land in Cameron County to SpaceX. The land includes Boca Chica State Park, which the aerospace company sought to acquire to expand its Starbase rocket facility. Hinojosa requested that the state parks department delay the transaction until she officially takes office in January.

Hinojosa, who grew up in the Rio Grande Valley, described the sale of the beach as "unacceptable." She stated that while she is open to a working relationship with Elon Musk, it must be on terms that benefit Texans. The move follows a Democratic sweep of statewide races in Texas, which coincided with a nearly 6% premarket drop in Tesla and SpaceX shares.

Beyond the land dispute, Hinojosa pledged a temporary moratorium on data center construction across the state to establish new legal protections. This policy shift has created uncertainty among artificial intelligence investors.