The downside of getting hundreds of millions from Elon Musk is that it comes from Elon Musk

We'll see how this plays out -- carpet-bombing anti-Democrat attack ads in Texas has been an effective strategy for thirty years now -- but this Talarico response strikes me as a smart approach. It avoids the "am not" trap of trying to rebut negative ads point by point which always comes off as weak and instead comes off strong by going on the offensive.

The numbers I've seen has Musk polling in Trump territory and while those numbers may be a little better in the Lone Star state, anti AI/tech bro sentiment is running high enough for Abbott to recently come out as the tough-on-data-centers guy. Having Texans think of Paxton (already a toxic candidate) as Elon's boy can't be a plus.

NEW AD: Have you seen these anti-Talarico attack ads? Elon Musk paid for nearly all of them. The world's first trillionaire knows if he drags the most corrupt politician in Texas across the finish line, Ken Paxton will owe him everything. Elon Musk: Texas is not for sale.

[image or embed]— Team Talarico (@teamtalaricohq.bsky.social) October 22, 2026 at 11:44 AM

I have no doubt that the anti-Talarico ads will continue to find an audience, but I am sure they'd be more effective if they didn't have to drag the baggage of both Ken Paxton and Elon Musk.