Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been giving a $1million cheque every day to a randomly selected voter who has signed his petition supporting free speech and gun rights

$1m voter giveaway winners are not random - Musk lawyer

04 Nov 2024, 16:26 · RTE.ie

Elon Musk's pro-Trump group does not choose the winners of its $1 million-a-day giveaway to registered voters at random, but instead picks people who would be good spokespeople for its agenda, a lawyer for the billionaire has said.

Musk lawyer Chris Gober was trying to persuade a Pennsylvania judge that the giveaway was not an "illegal lottery," as Philadelphia district attorney Lawrence Krasner alleged in a lawsuit seeking to block the contest ahead of Tuesday's US presidential election.

"There is no prize to be won, instead recipients must fulfill contractual obligations to serve as a spokesperson for the PAC," Mr Gober said in the hearing before Judge Angelo Foglietta.

Democratic Philadelphia District Attorney Lawrence Krasner sued Mr Musk and his political action committee

The hearing in the battleground state comes just one day before Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump will square off in the tightly contested race. Mr Musk and his political action committee are backing Mr Trump.

Since 19 October, Tesla CEO Musk has been giving a $1million check every day to a randomly selected voter who has signed his petition supporting free speech and gun rights.

Mr Musk became an outspoken Trump supporter this year and has promoted the former president on his X social media platform.

Mr Krasner, a Democrat, sued Mr Musk and his political action committee in state court on 28 October to try to block the giveaway, which he called an illegal lottery that violates state consumer protection laws.

Elon Musk became an outspoken Trump supporter this year

A lawyer for Mr Krasner's office, John Summers, called Mr Gober's comments a "complete admission of liability."

"We just heard this guy say, my boss, my client, called this random," Mr Summers said.

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

Mr Musk's offer is limited to registered voters in the seven states expected to decide the election - Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

So far, Mr Musk's America PAC has awarded $1 million prizes to 16 people and said the final prize will be given on 5 November.