ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Here in Washington this year, Elon Musk slashed his way through the federal government, and while that was happening, the world's richest man was also flexing his influence in another part of the country - Texas. The state is key to his empire and his influence there is rising. Texas Newsroom investigative reporter Lauren McGaughy dug into what Musk got this year from lawmakers in the Lone Star state.
LAUREN MCGAUGHY, BYLINE: It's April 2013, and Elon Musk is standing at a podium in the basement of the Texas Capitol.
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ELON MUSK: Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors.
MCGAUGHY: He's pleading with lawmakers to hear him out.
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MUSK: Our goal is really just to bring electric cars and tell the electric car story to people in an unfettered way.
MCGAUGHY: He wanted the Texas legislature to allow him to sell his electric cars directly to the public. That would mean bypassing the state's powerful car dealership lobby. Musk painted a bleak picture of what would happen to Tesla if he did not get his way.
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MUSK: I'm afraid we would fail. And so this is - for us, it's a matter of life or death.
MCGAUGHY: Texas lawmakers didn't buy it. The bill didn't pass, and Musk was forced to admit defeat. He spent the next decade investing in Texas, shifting his business headquarters and even moving here himself. Fast-forward to today, and Elon Musk is now one of the richest people in the world and one of the most influential in Texas. So when the state convened its legislative session in January, it was nothing like 2013. Let's just say, well, Elon Musk had a good year.
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MCGAUGHY: To gauge Musk's influence at the state Capitol, The Texas Newsroom watched hearings, interviewed legislators and requested internal emails from elected officials. We found out that the billionaire's lobbyists took a public stance on more than a dozen bills this year. All but three are slated to become law. That's a great batting average in a state Capitol where most legislation doesn't even have the chance of passage.
So what did Musk get? Protections for space ports like Starbase, his rocket launch facility near Brownsville.
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MCGAUGHY: More control over closing the beach near the site and fewer regulations for Tesla's at-home backup power generators. One of the new laws that Musk's lobbyists pushed for will criminalize anyone who tries to interfere with SpaceX's operations, including protesters. Here's Kathy Lueders, Starbase's then-general manager, at a legislative hearing in March.
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KATHY LUEDERS: This means that damaging or disrupting a spaceport becomes a heightened criminal offense, helping to deter bad actors. So protecting them is essential for Texas.
MCGAUGHY: Musk only opposed two bills, including one that would have strongly regulated driverless cars like Tesla's Robotaxis. That legislation died. Terry Canales wrote the bill. I caught up with him in the Texas House chamber, where he blamed Musk's lobbyist for killing his proposal.
TERRY CANALES: Tesla is the worst actor that I've ever dealt with in the Capitol. They're subversive. They never come out of the shadows.
MCGAUGHY: Musk and his lobbyist did not respond to a request for comment about this criticism. Musk's influence even went beyond his public priorities. Inspired by his federal Department of Government Efficiency, Texas created its own DOGE office. And by all accounts, unlike 2013, Musk didn't even need to come to the Capitol in person to plead his case. Mark Jones is a political science professor at Rice University. He said Texas has never seen the likes of Elon Musk.
MARK JONES: Elon Musk today is arguably the most powerful and influential private citizen in the country.
MCGAUGHY: Texas lawmakers only meet every other year. Before the next session convenes in 2027, Musk's influence here will only grow. He's expanding his satellite production site outside Austin, and he just got the go-ahead to increase the number of rocket launches at Starbase, all made easier with the help of Texas lawmakers.
For NPR News, I'm Lauren McGaughy in Austin.
(SOUNDBITE OF 4 FARGO SONG, "GET HER") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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