Elon Musk Enters Texas Politics with $1M Donation to Controversial Tort Reform Group

Elon Musk has made a significant move into Texas politics, donating $1 million last month to Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR), a powerful tort reform group backing Republicans in key legislative races. This marks Musk's largest political contribution in the state to date.

Musk, the billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, has been increasingly involved in national politics, launching a PAC to support Donald Trump and using his social media site, X, to boost the former president. His donation to TLR, revealed in recent campaign finance filings, signals his growing influence in state politics as well.

This donation comes as Musk deepens his Texas ties. In July, he announced plans to move X and SpaceX headquarters from California to Texas. Tesla has been headquartered in Austin since 2021, and Musk has filed paperwork to start a new university in the city.

TLR, once praised for helping Republicans gain control of Texas, has recently been criticized by Attorney General Ken Paxton and his allies for allegedly playing a role in Paxton's impeachment. TLR denies involvement and says it supports candidates based on their stance on civil justice issues.

Musk's $1 million donation made up more than a third of TLR's $2.9 million haul from July through September. Other major donors include Miriam Adelson, who gave $500,000. TLR has nearly $34 million cash on hand.

In August, TLR promoted Musk's decision to incorporate Tesla in Texas, highlighting Texas' new business court system. TLR was a leading advocate for this system, established last year to handle large business transactions.

Earlier this year, Musk secretly funded a group attempting to oust Travis County District Attorney José Garza, spending over $650,000 on ads criticizing Garza's progressive policies, according to The Wall Street Journal.

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