Musk $1 million contest survives lawsuit by Philadelphia DA

Judge rejects a request to halt the contest by the DA, who called it an illegal lottery

PHILADELPHIA: Elon Musk's daily million-dollar voter giveaway survived a legal challenge by Philadelphia's district attorney ahead of Tuesday's presidential election as a judge in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania declined to block it.

Pennsylvania Judge Angelo Foglietta on Monday rejected a request to halt the contest by the DA, who called it an illegal lottery. The ruling, which didn't include any reasoning, came shortly after a hearing where Musk's lawyer said that the contest winners weren't picked at random.

Musk's pro-Donald Trump America PAC has been giving away $1 million every day until Election Day on November 5 to people who signed a petition calling for free speech and the right to bear arms. The winner must be a registered voter in a swing state. The contest doesn't specify which candidate voters should cast their ballots for.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner sued Musk and the PAC last week, asking a state court to stop Musk from engaging in an "unlawful lottery," which lulls "Philadelphia citizens to give up their personal identifying information and make a political pledge in exchange for the chance to win $1 million."

Earlier Monday, Musk's lawyer, Chris Gober, pushed back against the suit by telling Foglietta that the contest wasn't a lottery at all because the winners weren't chosen "by chance." He said the winners were selected based on their "suitability" to be a public spokesperson for Musk's political action committee, often based on their personal stories.

Calls to Musk's lawyers and Krasner's office seeking comment weren't immediately returned. The judge will release his full opinion later.

Chris Young, the PAC's treasurer, said at the hearing Monday that he was surprised to hear Musk say at a rally last month that the recipients would be chosen at random.

Young said each of the recipients of the $1 million payments are required to sign employment agreements for the PAC. He said they earn the money through that work and are selected based on how many people they referred and other criteria such as their alignment with the program's values.

"Anyone who participated in the program knew exactly" what was expected of them, Young said. "These individuals are being put through the wringer."

Krasner testified Monday that the contest is nothing more than a "grift." The Democratic politician denied that the suit was politically motivated.

"I have brought actions against Democrats in the past," Krasner said, adding that he drove a Tesla. "I would have brought an action against Taylor Swift if she did this."