Federal judge orders Musk back to PA court for ‘illegal lottery’ lawsuit

A federal judge denied it Friday Elon Musk’s request to move a Pennsylvania lawsuit over his $1 million daily gifts to federal court, sending the case — which centers on whether the gifts constitute “illegal bribery” under Pennsylvania law — back to the state for a hearing.

The decision is a victory for Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, who filed a lawsuit earlier this week to stop Musk and his Trump-supporting political action committee from continuing their $1 million donations to swing state voters.

Judge Angelo Foglietta on Friday ordered the hearing to be held at 10 a.m. Monday, in accordance with Krasner’s request that the matter be heard “immediately.”

It is not clear whether Musk, whose lawyers filed a motion late Friday to overturn a mandatory attendance provision at the trial, will appear in court.

The DA’s office described the gifts as an “illegal sweepstakes” designed to influence the results of a presidential election and a violation of Pennsylvania law.

It also accused Musk and his PAC of infringement consumer protection lawsciting “misleading” and “misleading” statements Musk made about the nature of the contest.

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Musk’s lawyers asked for the case to be heard in federal court, delaying an initial hearing scheduled for Thursday.

Lawyers for the Tesla founder and Trump supporter also used it as a pretext for his failure to appear at an originally scheduled court date in Philadelphia.

They accused Krasner’s office of creating a “circus atmosphere.” naming him in the suit.

In a filing late Thursday, Krasner asked the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia to “immediately” resubmit the process back to the state, noting that the lawsuit filed against Musk is based solely on the state’s legal claims and has no basis for removal.

The push to have a federal court oversee the case “is a stunt to gain a procedural advantage,” he said, and “run out the clock” until the election.

Until the hearing takes place, Musk and the PAC are likely free to continue their daily giveaways.

“Insanely, they have done this every day since the complaint was filed — including this morning, the day of the scheduled hearing,” Krasner said Thursday in filing the emergency motion.

The legal battle comes as Musk’s PAC America has awarded $1 million to 14 people so far — which it said it plans to do by Election Day.

Musk billed the $1 million daily giveaways as an effort to increase voter registration in seven major states and claimed his daily winners are selected “randomly.”

But the DA’s office disputed that, noting, “Although Musk says the selection of a winner is ‘random,’ that appears false because several winners who were selected are people who showed up at Trump rallies in Pennsylvania.”

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The lawsuit notes that all Pennsylvania lotteries must be “operated and administered by the state.” Musk’s daily deals, the suit claims, violate that law.

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The Founder and CEO of Tesla was subjected to increased scrutiny for daily gifts.

Last week, The Department of Justice sent a letter Musk’s warning that the gift scheme could violate federal election laws, which criminalize paying voters to register or participate in elections.

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