Elon Musk PAC’s $1 Million Giveaways Upheld In Court

Topline

A Philadelphia judge allowed billionaire Elon Musk to keep awarding $1 million per day to registered swing state voters—even as the program is nearly at an end—after Philadelphia's district attorney sued to block the giveaway, claiming it violated Pennsylvania law.

Key Facts

Philadelphia Judge Angelo Foglietta declined to issue an injunction blocking the $1 million giveaways, following a hearing Monday morning over whether the $1 million giveaways should be blocked.

Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner sued Musk and his America PAC last week, arguing the $1 million giveaways—awarded each day to a registered swing state voter who signed a petition on the PAC’s website—violate state lottery rules and state consumer protection laws, alleging there’s no transparency about the contest’s rules, how winners are chosen and how the PAC uses voter data.

Foglietta did not offer reasoning for his ruling immediately on Monday, but said a longer ruling would be forthcoming.

The hearing Monday took place after Foglietta paused the case Thursday while Musk tried to move the lawsuit to federal court, but the federal judge denied the billionaire’s request on Friday, allowing the litigation to move forward in Philadelphia.

Foglietta’s ruling would have only affected one million-dollar prize on Tuesday, The New York Times pointed out, after America PAC announced Monday’s winner shortly before the hearing began.

Was Elon Musk At Monday’s Hearing?

No. The billionaire did not attend the hearing, the Times reports, nor did he attend a hearing on Thursday in the lawsuit. Musk’s lawyers said at that hearing that their client “is a very busy man who can’t just materialize on 12 hours notice,” which Foglietta agreed with, commenting Musk is “not going to get on a rocket ship and land in Philadelphia.”

Surprising Fact

Musk announced the $1 million giveaway claiming that winners would be selected at random, which Krasner seized upon in his lawsuit, alleging that it shows the giveaways are “lotteries” that violate state rules only allowing lotteries administered by the state. Musk’s attorneys claimed during Monday’s hearing that winners are not randomly selected, however, according to CNN and Reuters. Rather, they claim the $1 million is awarded as a salary for winners to be spokespeople for America PAC, alleging winners are chosen based on their “ability to serve” and winners have to fulfill “contractual obligations.” John Summers, an attorney for the DA’s office, called Gober’s new claims about the nature of the giveaway a “complete admission of liability” that the contest’s original terms were an illegal lottery, Reuters reports. "We just heard this guy say, my boss, my client, called this random," Summers said about Summers and Musk. "[America PAC]

promised people that they were going to participate in a random process, but it's a process where [they] pre-select people."

What To Watch For

Musk still faces the possibility of consequences in federal court for running the $1 million sweepstakes, as the Justice Department reportedly sent a warning letter to America PAC noting the giveaway may run afoul of federal law. Since Musk’s giveaways only award the million-dollar prize to registered voters in swing states, legal experts have argued the program could violate federal laws that prohibit people from paying or bribing people to vote or register to vote, including through lotteries. America PAC continued its giveaways after receiving the warning and it remains unclear whether the DOJ will ultimately pursue any legal action over the sweepstakes. Violations of the federal prohibition on bribing people to vote or register are punishable by up to $10,000 in fines and/or up to five years in prison.

Forbes Valuation

Forbes estimates Musk’s net worth at $263.3 billion as of Monday morning, making him the richest person in the world. The billionaire is America PAC’s biggest donor, pouring more than $118 million into America PAC through Oct. 16, according to federal filings—which is before the $1 million giveaways were first announced—and it’s unclear how much more he may have put into the PAC since then.

Key Background

Musk helped form America PAC over the summer after the billionaire endorsed Trump following the assassination attempt against the ex-president. The Tesla CEO has since gone on to become one of Trump’s most outspoken supporters and biggest financial backers, appearing at campaign rallies and supporting Trump on X while America PAC reportedly became the main group handling the Trump campaign’s ground game. Musk’s companies stand to heavily benefit if Trump wins, and the ex-president has floated giving Musk a role in his administration, with Musk urging Trump to form a new “office of government efficiency.” The $1 million giveaways were announced in mid-October after America PAC had already made waves for promising $47 to supporters if they got swing state voters to sign the PAC’s petition on their website. America PAC has since awarded more than $10 million to voters through the $1 million sweepstakes, and has said it’s sent out at least 187,000 checks to supporters who recruited people to sign the PAC’s petition. While voters of any party can sign the PAC’s petition, NBC News notes all winners so far appear to either be registered Republicans or Trump supporters.

Further Reading