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Is Elon Musk the perfect Texan or the Anti-Texan?

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Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk at the Texas State Capitol.
Ryan Poppe | Texas Public Radio

The world’s richest person, Elon Musk, is hanging his newly acquired cowboy hat in Texas.

Musk is bringing with him manufacturing jobs, high tech innovation and social media fascist-curious pizzazz that many in the state welcome.

The South African native shunned California when he picked Texas to build his Mars bound spaceport and the world's largest electric car factory.

And that's not all. Musk is also plotting to revolutionize ground transportation by digging a network of intracity tunnels. And he's currently mapping out his own city with the help of Kanye West.

But what might give his Texas supporters pause is learning that Musk's core initiative is to save humanity from climate change by ending the need for oil.

This is something the state's petroleum-promoting GOP leadership doesn't love.

Also, Musk is dead set against car dealerships and won't allow Tesla to adopt that traditional sales model.

Car dealerships are enshrined and protected in Texas law, and this is why its unlawful to buy a new Tesla in Texas.

Guest: Russell Gold, journalist for Texas Monthly. He was previously an investigative reporter for The Wall Street Journal and the San Antonio Express-News and suburban correspondent for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
He is the author of The Boom: How Fracking Ignited the American Energy Revolution and Changed the World.

"The Source" is a live call-in program airing Mondays through Thursdays from 12-1 p.m. Leave a message before the program at (210) 615-8982. During the live show, call 833-877-8255, email thesource@tpr.org or tweet@TPRSource.

*This interview will be recorded on Thursday, March 16.

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David Martin Davies can be reached at dmdavies@tpr.org and on Twitter at @DavidMartinDavi