Elon Musk’s mother ‘encourages’ voter fraud ahead of US polls; verified after X

Maye Musk, the mother of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, entered into controversy this month with a post that “encouraged” voter fraud. The message was shared on X and criticized Democrats for making sure people could “go to 10 polling places and vote 10 times” under fake names. The development came despite her son being spotted jumping at a Donald Trump rally this week. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO also plans to campaign for the former POTUS in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

“The Democrats have given us another option. You don’t need to register to vote. On election day, have 10 fake names, go to 10 polling booths and vote 10 times. It’s 100 votes, and it’s not illegal. Maybe we should work the system too,” he wrote on the social media platform earlier this month.

The post was later deleted amid widespread backlash from social media users.

Some pointed out that the publication could be taken as “the solicitation of a crime”, while others reiterated that his suggestion amounted to electoral fraud.

“This tweet constitutes solicitation of a crime and is itself a fully completed criminal act. If even one person acts on your request, you could also be charged with conspiracy. You should retract this tweet immediately.” said an X user.

“Is this supposed to be a joke?” asked another.

“This is illegal and I can’t wait for people to sue you when they get jailed for this,” added a third.

Musk, however, played down his claims, insisting that X’s critics “didn’t get the sarcasm.”

“Actually, this is coming from Gavin Newsom. What you’re saying is that he should be jailed for his new law that prevents ID from voting, so that illegal immigrants can vote multiple times. I guess not you get the sarcasm,” he told one user.

(With input from agencies)