Elon Musk’s $1 million-a-day voter sweepstakes can go ahead, judge says

The $1 million-a-day sweep Elon Musk’s political action committee is hosting in swing states can continue through Tuesday’s presidential election, a Pennsylvania judge ruled Monday.

Judge Angelo Foglietta, who ruled after Musk’s lawyers said the winners are not chosen at random, did not immediately give a reason for the decision.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner called the raffle a scam that violates state election law and called for it to be shut down.

The raffle winners did not win by chance but are paid spokespeople for the group, Musk’s lawyers said in court on Monday.

Musk’s attorney Chris Gober said the last two recipients before Tuesday’s presidential election will be in Arizona on Monday and Michigan on Tuesday.

“Recipients of a million dollars are not chosen by chance,” Gober said Monday. “We know exactly who will be announced as the million dollar recipient today and tomorrow.”

Chris Young, director of America PAC, testified that recipients are vetted ahead of time to “get a feel for their personality (and) make sure they’re someone whose values align” with the group.

The revelations prompted a lawyer for District Attorney Larry Krasner to call the effort a “scam” that is “designed to effectively influence national elections.”

Musk’s lawyers, in closing arguments, called it “basic political speech,” as attendees sign a petition endorsing the U.S. Constitution. They said Krasner’s legal bid to close the sweepstakes under Pennsylvania law was moot because there would be no more Pennsylvania winners before the program ended Tuesday.

Krasner believes the gifts violate state election law and contradict what Musk promised when he announced them during an appearance with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 19: “We’re going to give a million dollars . randomly to people who signed the petition every day from now until the election,” Musk promised.

Young also admitted that PAC made recipients sign confidentiality agreements.

“They couldn’t really reveal the truth about how they got the money, could they?” asked Krasner attorney John Summers.

“Sounds good,” Young said.

In an Oct. 20 social media post shown in court, Musk said anyone who signs the petition has “a daily chance to win $1 million!”

Summers told Musk’s use of both the words “chance” and “random,” prompting Young, who is also the PAC’s treasurer, to admit that the latter is “not the word I would have chosen “.

Young said the winners knew they would be called on stage, but not specifically that they would win the money.

Musk did not attend the hearing. It was committed over $70 million to super PACs to help Trump and other Republicans win in November.

“This was all political marketing masquerading as a lottery,” Krasner testified Monday morning. “That’s it. A graft.”

Lawyers for Musk and the PAC said they do not plan to extend the lottery beyond Tuesday. Krasner said the first three winners, as of Oct. 19, came from Pennsylvania in the days leading up to the Oct. 21 voter registration deadline.

Other winners came from the battleground states of Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Michigan. It is not clear if anyone has received the money yet. PAC promised to receive it by Nov. 30, according to evidence presented in court.

More than 1 million people in the seven states entered the sweepstakes by signing a petition saying they support the right to free speech and bear arms, the first two amendments to the US Constitution. Krasner questioned how the PAC could use the data, which it will have at hand long after the election.

“They were cheated of their information,” Krasner said. “It has almost unlimited uses.”

Krasner’s attorney, John Summers, said Musk is “the heartbeat of America PAC” and the person who announces the winners and presents the checks.

“He was the one who presented the cheques, albeit big cardboard cheques. We don’t really know if there are any real checks,” Summers said.

Common Pleas Court Judge Angelo Foglietta presided over the case at City Hall in Philadelphia after Musk and the PAC lost an effort to move it to federal court.

Krasner said he could still consider criminal charges because he is tasked with protecting both the lotteries and the integrity of elections. In the lawsuit, he said the defendants are “unquestionably in violation” of Pennsylvania’s lottery laws.

Pennsylvania remains a key battleground state with 19 electoral votes, and both Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris have visited the state repeatedly, including stops planned on Monday in the final hours of the campaign.

Krasner — who noted that he has long driven a Tesla — said he may also seek civil damages for the Pennsylvania claimants. Musk is the CEO and largest shareholder of Tesla. He also owns the social media platform X, where America PAC has posted about the raffle, and the rocket manufacturer SpaceX.