Louisiana Ramps Up Secretive Economic Negotiations with Tech Giants Oracle and Tesla
BATON ROUGE, La. — The administration of Governor Jeff Landry has significantly intensified its use of confidentiality agreements to court major private investment, with newly released records revealing that Louisiana Economic Development (LED) has entered into nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) with tech titans Oracle and Tesla.
The documents, obtained by The Times-Picayune | The Advocate through a public records request, mark the latest in a wave of over 300 confidentiality pacts signed by the Landry administration since taking office. While the state remains tight-lipped regarding the specifics of these latest negotiations, the pattern mirrors the private maneuvering that preceded high-profile projects, including Meta’s massive data center in Richland Parish and the recent announcement of a $100 billion SpaceX spaceport in Vermilion Parish.
A Strategy of Secrecy
The use of NDAs has become a signature, if controversial, tool for the Landry administration. LED Secretary Susan Bourgeois defended the necessity of the agreements, warning that premature public disclosure could jeopardize the state’s competitive edge.
“Comments or stories about these kinds of projects in this phase put Louisiana at risk of losing those projects,” Bourgeois said during an interview Friday. “I think it’s patently dangerous and uncompetitive for us as a state to be having these discussions in the press right now.”
Governor Landry has been equally defiant, framing the secrecy as a defensive measure against aggressive neighboring states. “You think I want Texas to steal my thunder?” Landry remarked following the SpaceX announcement earlier this week. “You think I want other states to know what we’re working on?”
Growing Transparency Concerns
The reliance on NDAs, which extend to include state senators, key House members, and local regulators, has drawn criticism from government watchdogs. Steven Procopio, president of the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, acknowledged the complex balancing act.
“At some point, there should be a public process where these things get approved,” Procopio said. “But it’s a tradeoff.”
Critics argue that the sheer volume of these agreements—covering everything from industrial infrastructure to high-tech operations—effectively shuts the public out of the decision-making process for projects that will fundamentally reshape the state’s economy and environment.
The Scope of the Ambition
The newly disclosed NDAs with Oracle and Tesla come as Louisiana aggressively positions itself as a destination for the burgeoning data center industry. LED has reportedly secured similar agreements with industry leaders such as Google, Anthropic, and Amazon.
While the exact nature of the Tesla deal remains speculative, records show the NDA was signed by Joshua Wheeler, the company’s head of lithium and recycling. This has fueled local industry speculation about potential manufacturing or recycling initiatives, though neither Tesla nor Oracle responded to requests for comment regarding the agreements.
As the state moves toward realizing the “world’s largest spaceport” and a sprawling network of data centers, the administration shows no sign of abandoning its policy of strict confidentiality. For the Landry administration, the risks of being “outbid” by rival states far outweigh the optics of operating behind closed doors.
