A Pennsylvania judge ruled Elon Musk can continue his $1 million Election Day giveaway because the grand prize winners are in fact paid spokespeople who are not chosen at random, despite language from Musk suggesting otherwise.
“The $1 million recipients are not chosen by chance,” Musk lawyer Chris Gober told a Pennsylvania court Monday. “We know exactly who will be announced as the $1 million recipient today and tomorrow.”
Gober clarified at the hearing: “There is no prize to be won, instead recipients must fulfill contractual obligations to serve as a spokesperson for the PAC.”
The treasurer of Musk’s America PAC, which organizes the giveaways, confirmed the people receiving big cardboard checks for $1 million “were someone whose values aligned” with those of the billionaire Trump supporter’s political action committee (PAC) , according to the Associated Press. Supposed “winners” signed confidentiality agreements preventing them from disclosing information about their windfall, the treasure said.
Pennsylvania officials including Gov. Josh Shapiro wondered about the legality of Musk holding a contest that might effectively offer cash rewards to influence votes. The contest has been promoted as a giveaway to contestants who are registered to vote in swing states and sign a petition confirming they support free speech and gun ownership.
Musk — a devoted Donald Trump supporter — vowed at a MAGA rally in Pennsylvania on Oct. 19 that his group would be “awarding a million dollars randomly to people who have signed the petition every day from now until the election.”
“This was all a political marketing masquerading as a lottery,” Pennsylvania District Attorney Larry Krasner testified. “That’s what it is. A grift.”
Krasner alleges the 1 million people from the seven states eligible to win Musk’s PAC money “were scammed” for their personal information, which can be repurposed for other future use.
Musk’s legal team calls the giveaways an exercise of “core political” speech. America PAC’s treasurer conceded in court that Musk’s use of words like “chance” and “randomly” to describe the political stunt may have been misleading. How the recipients are picked isn’t clear. Tuesday is slated to be the final day of the promotion that began last month.
A lawyer for Pennsylvania’s District Attorney’s office couldn’t confirm whether those participating in Musk’s promotion actually received $1 million. Court records show America PAC’s payouts would be made by Nov. 30.
With News Wire Services
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