Elon Musk, the most important mega-donor of the 2024 presidential election, has spent the final stretch of the campaign awarding $1 million from his Super PAC to a different swing state voters daily in order to boost his favored candidate, Donald Trump. Such a giveaway is unprecedented in American politics, for a very important reason: It may well be illegal, as the Department of Justice has warned Musk.
Last week, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner filed a lawsuit against Musk's America PAC on behalf of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the must-win state where Musk and the organization have focused their attention. Rather than alleging election interference, the complaint demands a halt to the scheme as an “illegal lottery” under Pennsylvania law that the Super PAC has advertised with deceptive language, violating consumer protection laws. Krasner faced threats of violence over the legal action, and requested extra security for court proceedings. Last week, a judge denied America PAC's request to move the case to a federal court.
In a Monday hearing, the question of how Musk promoted the prizes came under scrutiny. The billionaire first announced the giveaways on Oct. 19, saying that any registered swing state voter who signed an America PAC petition supporting the First and Second Amendments was eligible to win. These winners, he said, would be chosen “randomly” from the pool of voters putting their names on the petition. (The group's official social media account then repeated the claim that prizes would be awarded “randomly.”) Krasner's suit disputes the claim that the lottery is random. Nearly all the checks have gone to registered Republicans or right-leaning voters.
Contrary to the statements from Musk and America PAC, Musk lawyer Chris Gober admitted to Judge Angelo Foglietta in court on Monday that winners “are not chosen at random” but specifically selected by the organization. Gober said that this meant the giveaways are not technically a lottery — meaning they are not subject to state regulation of such contests.
Krasner's suit had anticipated such an argument: “To be clear, it would be no defense for America PAC and Musk to argue that it was not engaging in a lottery if their scheme actually did not involve a chance or random selection of winners,” the complaint argued, because “they would be admitting to acting deceptively and in violation of the commonwealth's consumer protection law.” America PAC would “still be in violation of the commonwealth's prohibition against the operation of unlawful lotteries,” the suit contested.
Gober nonetheless argued the giveaway is not a lottery because the $1 million winners “earn” a salary to become a “spokesperson” for America PAC, and were picked based on their “suitability to serve” as well as their personal history. Krasner's team called this a “complete admission of liability” in running an illegal lottery and showed Judge Foglietta how Musk had said “randomly” in his announcement of the giveaway at a rally in Pennsylvania — prompting Gober to insist that there is a difference in meaning between “randomly” and “by chance.”
America PAC has given four Pennsylvania voters the $1 million prize and on Sunday awarded it to a Wisconsin voter. It preemptively announced that the two final prizes, declared on Monday and Tuesday, would go to an Arizona voter and a Michigan voter, respectively — meaning these won't be affected by any ruling in Pennsylvania. (The Arizona winner was announced early on Monday.) Nonetheless, Krasner plans to pursue financial penalties, and told the court, “I'll be seeking a lot more money than that for what Elon Musk and America PAC have done.” He is not seeking to reclaim the $16 million so far awarded to voters.
Musk's lottery stunt is something of a sideshow to the Super PAC's primary role as the organization largely responsible for mounting Trump's get-out-the-vote field operation — a job that top Republican donors and MAGA operatives worry it can't handle. Reports from the ground have suggested that canvassing efforts are in complete disarray. Musk has personally donated a staggering $119 million to America PAC in his all-consuming desire to return Trump to the White House.
That has certainly endeared Musk to the former president and his supporters — for now. If he loses to Vice President Kamala Harris, however, Musk is likely to receive a sizable share of the blame. At which point he may well wonder if any of this expensive spectacle was worth it.
