Elon Musk is putting his money where the votes are. The billionaire founder of Tesla and Space X and owner of social media platform X is backing Republican Donald Trump’s candidacy for the White House. Musk has committed at least $70 million to help the former president. He’s also pledging to give away big money to voters . . . if they sign a petition.
Musk’s America PAC (political action committee) launched a tour of Pennsylvania, an important election battleground. Musk aimed to register voters in support of former President Trump. The PAC is also pushing to persuade voters in other key states.
The petition on the American PAC website is just two sentences: “The First and Second Amendments guarantee freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. By signing below, I am pledging my support for the First and Second Amendments.”
The pledge seems simple. What’s raising questions and eyebrows is the payout part: Musk promised to give away $1 million per day from October 19 until the November 5 election. Those eligible to win the daily payout must be registered voters and sign the petition.
Some election law experts wonder whether it’s legal to link a cash handout to signing a petition that also requires a person to be a registered voter.
Brendan Fischer, a campaign finance lawyer, warns that Musk’s giveaway approaches a legal boundary. “Conditioning the payments on registration arguably violates the law,” Fischer writes.
Election law professor Michael Kang says, “It’s not quite the same as paying someone to vote, but you’re getting close enough that we worry about its legality.”
Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania is the state’s former attorney general. He too expressed concern about the plan.
“I think there are real questions with how he is spending money in this race,” Shapiro said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He called the payouts “dark money.” He added, “That is deeply concerning.”
Musk awarded the first $1 million check during an event on Saturday in Pennsylvania to a man named John Dreher. Musk also gave out checks Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday to voters from Pennsylvania. On Tuesday, the contest began including petition-signers/voters from other swing states, according to the contest website.
The recent payouts are not the first that the American PAC has offered. Musk posted on X that he would offer people $47—and then $100—for referring others to register to vote and signing the petition.
Campaigning Sunday in Pennsylvania, former President Trump stated that he wasn’t following Musk’s giveaway.
A recent ruling by the Federal Election Commission, which regulates federal campaigns, changed how candidates could work with groups that raise large sums of money to support them. One example of when candidates and super-fundraisers could work together? Efforts to get voters registered and to the polls.
Some officials have asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the payouts. It’s up to that department to decide whether Musk and his America PAC are violating federal law.
