SpaceX wanted the government to cover the cost of building electric and water lines to Boca Chica Beach, the proposed launch site, near where the Rio Grande empties into the Gulf of Mexico, said Oliveira.
In 2012, before the biennial legislative session, Musk and a trust in his name donated $1,000 to Representative Jim Pitts, a Republican who is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, $1,000 to Oliveira and $3,000 to Senator Eddie Lucio Jr., a Brownsville Democrat.
California Trip
Pitts and his then-chief of staff, Aaron Gregg, visited SpaceX’s headquarters in January 2013. The company spent $6,803 on the three-day trip, including bills for a hotel steps from the Santa Monica beach, according to state records.
SpaceX won Pitts’s support, which was key to getting incentives approved, said Oliveira.
He “was very helpful in obtaining the commitment to spend $15 million,” Oliveira said.
Requests to interview Pitts were referred to his chief of staff, Victoria Weber, who didn’t respond to written questions. Gregg declined to comment.
As the legislative session was under way, Oliveira said he told Musk to “plant the flag” by meeting with lawmakers.
States Competing
Musk heeded the advice. On March 8, he appeared at a hearing before Pitts’s committee, which oversees spending, at the Capitol in Austin. Oliveira and a SpaceX lobbyist appeared with him.