Tesla CEO Elon Musk is calling on residents in Travis County, Texas — the home of the city of Austin — to head to the ballot box for Tuesday’s Democratic primary to push out the county’s current district attorney.
Reposting a message from defense attorney Jeremy Sylestine, who is challenging incumbent Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza (D), Musk wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, “Sorry to bother everyone with this note, as it applies to people in the greater Austin area, but please go to the polls and vote for a new District Attorney!”
Musk has ties to the Austin area, which is where Tesla’s headquarters is located.
Earlier this year, a Delaware judge tossed out Musk’s record-breaking Tesla compensation package worth up to $55.8 billion, ruling it was negotiated unfairly since Musk controlled the board that authorized it.
The ruling was a significant hit for Musk, who is now attempting to move several of his companies out of Delaware. The billionaire moved his spacecraft and satellite communications company Space X’s state of incorporation to Texas last month.
Shortly after the Delaware ruling, Musk took to X — which he renamed after purchasing the platform in 2022 — and asked his followers if Tesla should also change its state of incorporation to the Lone Star State.
About 87 percent of votes said yes in a poll on the platform.
The CEO said last month that the electric car company will hold a shareholder vote on moving its site of incorporation.
Musk also moved the state of incorporation for his neurotechnology company Neuralink from Delaware to Nevada last month.
Garza, who was first elected in 2020, faced criticism early in his term for his indictments of 17 officers involved in the Black Lives Matter riots in 2020, which he eventually dropped.
Primary challenger Sylestine is running to unseat him, and has vowed more transparency with the community and more resources for those with mental health issues, according to Fox 7 Austin.