Elon Musk has continued to give away $1 million a day to voters as part of his petition giveaway despite a Department of Justice warning.
Legal experts have warned that the SpaceX CEO’s initiative may violate federal laws prohibiting vote-buying, potentially leading to criminal charges.
On Tuesday, it was reported that the DOJ’s public integrity section sent Musk a written notice stating that his payments “may violate federal law.”
The billionaire Tesla owner has promised to give away $1 million daily until the election to a registered voter who signs an online petition supporting the First and Second Amendments on behalf of the pro-Trump America PAC. The petition targets registered voters in key swing states: Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina.
SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk awarded Kristine Fishell with a $1 million check during the town hall at the Roxain Theater on October 20, 2024, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Musk has donated more than $75 million to America PAC, which he co-founded to support Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Michael Swensen/Getty Images
Musk has backed former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential race, donating more than $75 million to his campaign. The owner of X (formerly Twitter) has spoken at Trump rallies in support of the former president.
The DOJ is concerned that Musk’s giveaway is intended to reward people for registering and voting for Trump, according to reports.
On Thursday, Musk’s Political Action Committee announced that Jason Cochran of Holland, Michigan, received $1 million for “signing our petition to support the Constitution.”
A post on X shows Cochran holding a novelty $1 million check.
Winners announced over the past week are Brian Bauer from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Andy Steinle from Holly Springs, North Carolina, Shannon Tomei from McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, and John Dreher and Kristine Fishell, both from Pennsylvania.
Newsweek sought email comment from Musk and the Trump campaign on Friday.
Michael S. Kang, a law professor at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law, told Newsweek that Musk may be on the wrong side of the law.
“The fact that the giveaway entrant here is signing a petition seems secondary to the requirement that the entrant be a registered voter in one of the battleground states, basically in time to vote in the November presidential election,” he said.
“It’s hard to understand the program as anything other than a financial inducement, at least for new voters, to hurry up and register to vote so they can be eligible for the giveaway.”
“It would be totally different if this program was being run next summer, with no election looming in a few weeks. If we determine this program is effectively paying people to register to vote, then there is potential liability for both payer and payee here,” he said, highlighting the context of the giveaway.
However, Kang said, “As a practical matter, though, the chances of prosecution against the giveaway entrants seems quite minimal.”
Launching the giveaway on October 19 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Musk announced: “We want to try to get over a million, maybe 2 million voters in the battleground states to sign the petition in support of the First and Second Amendment.
“We are going to be awarding $1 million randomly to people who have signed the petition, every day, from now until the election.”
