‘That stops when I’m governor’: Texas governor-elect Gina Hinojosa warns Elon Musk, Big Tech over data centres
Texas governor-elect Gina Hinojosa has warned major technology companies, including Elon Musk’s businesses, that they will no longer be allowed to operate in the state without safeguards for local communities, saying their practice of taking advantage of Texans “stops when I’m governor”.In an interview with CNN, Hinojosa said data centres had expanded in largely rural parts of Texas without adequate regulations, leaving residents vulnerable to the impact of these projects.“Right now, what has happened is data centres have moved into mostly rural communities, and there are no rules and laws to protect Texans, and Texans are being taken advantage of,” she said.Hinojosa, who defeated Republican incumbent Greg Abbott in the November 3 election, said she was not opposed to data centres or the technology industry but wanted companies to work with communities rather than impose projects on them.“Is not that I hate data centres. I hate the way they are taking advantage of Texas. And that stops when I’m governor,” she said.She added that Texas could continue to attract businesses while ensuring that residents were protected. “We have always been a pro-business state in Texas, but what changes now with me as governor is it has to be a partnership that benefits Texans,” she said.Hinojosa has called for an immediate moratorium on new data-centre projects until state lawmakers put safeguards in place. She has also urged Abbott to issue an executive order halting construction before she takes office.The governor-elect said local communities must have a say in deciding whether data centres should be built in their areas and under what conditions. She told CNN that different parts of Texas had different needs and that residents should be able to walk away from negotiations if companies did not meet their demands.Hinojosa says relationship with Musk must be on Texas’ termsHinojosa also addressed her potential relationship with Musk, whose companies SpaceX and Tesla have major operations in Texas.Asked whether Musk could move his businesses out of the state, she said she was open to working with him but insisted that companies would have to respect the interests of Texans.“We can have a strong working relationship with Musk and his companies, but it has to be on our terms. It cannot be just running over the people of Texas,” she said.Musk had backed Abbott and supported Republican candidates during the election campaign. He also spent heavily to promote Republican US Senate candidate Ken Paxton, who lost to Democrat James Talarico.The interview also touched on the proposed sale of a Texas state park near SpaceX’s operations at Boca Chica to the company. Asked whether she would block the sale even if Musk considered moving his operations elsewhere, Hinojosa said the state needed to protect public access to its beaches.“Selling our beach to Elon Musk is just something that is almost unimaginable,” she said, calling the proposal “unacceptable”.She added that Texas beaches were constitutionally protected as public spaces and should remain accessible to residents.Hinojosa’s victory ended more than three decades of Republican control of the Texas governor’s office. She is set to become the state’s first Democratic governor since Ann Richards left office in 1995 and its first Latina governor.
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