U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is taking time to visit with billionaire Elon Musk in the midst of a tough primary race, touting the jobs Tesla Inc. and Musk’s other companies have brought to Texas.
Cornyn toured Gigafactory Texas with Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, and Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming. In photos with a post Friday on X, Cornyn is seen outside the plant, in a conference room and viewing a Cybercab up close alongside Musk and an employee with the battery engineering team.
“What @Tesla has built is remarkable,” Cornyn said on the Musk-owned social media site. “Texas is proud to have Elon in our state, creating thousands of jobs, making massive investments and building a brighter and more prosperous future for our world.”
The Republican lawmaker has been making stops around Texas as he campaigns for his GOP primary with Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt. Last week, Cornyn was in the Rio Grande Valley to discuss immigration policy and today he is expected to join Secretary of War Pete Hegseth as part of his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour on visits to Musk’s Starbase in South Texas and Lockheed-Martin in Fort Worth.
Cornyn’s support of Musk could help draw favor from Trump’s supporters in Texas. Though Musk and Trump had a public feud last year, the two appear to be allies again. Musk had dinner at Mar-a-Lago with the president and First Lady Melania Trump, sharing excitement for the start of the year.
While Musk has regained his place in Trump’s inner circle, Cornyn has been raising record money for his campaign. He reportedly raised $7 million during the fourth quarter, the highest total in his career.
Still, time is running short for Cornyn to secure Trump’s endorsement. The primary election is on March 3 and overseas ballots will be mailed out in about a week.
