AUSTIN, Texas — A new report details how billionaire Texas resident Elon Musk secretly spent thousands trying to influence a local political race.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Musk spent $650,000 to try and block Travis County District Attorney José Garza's reelection.
The report says Musk primarily funded the "Saving Austin PAC" during the March primary election. The PAC was responsible for a flyer that featured a bloody teddy bear, claiming Garza was "filling the streets with pedophiles and killers."
The flyer had users on social media wondering if Garza's challenger, Jeremy Sylestine, paid for the attacks. But at the time, Sylestine quickly shot that possibility down. Despite the ads, Garza won the primary by more than 30 points.
A group based in North Texas appeared to be behind the Saving Austin group; however, a state database showed the group was not registered with the state. Now, the Wall Street Journal said the group was primarily funded by Musk, citing people familiar with his involvement, along with federal and corporate documents.
Musk has not responded to the report, but Garza's campaign team has.
Garza responds to report on Musk
Earlier this year, Garza issued a cease and desist against Saving Austin, calling it a "sham organization" and claiming the group operated illegally by extensively campaigning and not disclosing expenses.
On Friday, Garza's campaign issued the following statement regarding the report on Musk:
“Elon Musk marches in lockstep with MAGA Republicans. Donald Trump and his cadre of MAGA billionaires believe rules don’t apply to them, but this is a democracy. They tried to buy an election in Travis County with a shell game of dark money groups and nauseating scare tactics, but the voters had their say, and the billionaires lost.
The country should take note. MAGA billionaires treat Texas like a petri dish for extremist policy aims, then export their anti-public safety, job-killing, anti-freedom agenda to all fifty states. As Texas goes, so goes the nation and we’ve shown that these extremists can be beaten.
Elon Musk and Ted Cruz may think Texans are fools, but people know their neighborhoods, what they want from their government, and who’s delivering for them. That’s why they entrusted me once again with the Democratic nomination for District Attorney and an opportunity to build on the progress we made to keep our community safe, treat survivors with dignity and respect, and defend everyone’s rights to safety and justice."
Garza still faces Republican challenger Daniel Betts this fall.