Elon Musk is offering US$1 million a day to voters who sign a PAC petition. Is that legal?
CTV
Elon Musk has already committed at least US$70 million to help Donald Trump win the 2024 U.S. election. Now he's pledging to give away US$1 million a day to voters for signing his political action committee's petition backing the U.S. Coinstitution.
Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of Tesla and Space X and owner of X who's gone all-in on Republican Donald Trump's candidacy for the White House, has already committed at least US$70 million to help the former president. Now he's pledging to give away US$1 million a day to voters for signing his political action committee's petition backing the Constitution.
The giveaway is raising questions and alarms among some election experts who say it is a violation of the law to link a cash handout to signing a petition that also requires a person to be registered to vote.
Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, the state's former attorney general, expressed concern about the plan on Sunday.
“I think there are real questions with how he is spending money in this race, how the dark money is flowing, not just into Pennsylvania, but apparently now into the pockets of Pennsylvanians. That is deeply concerning," he said on NBC's “Meet the Press.”
A closer look at what's going on:
Musk promised on Saturday that he would give away US$1 million a day, until the Nov. 5 election, for people signing his PAC's petition supporting the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech, and the Second Amendment, with its right “to keep and bear arms.” He awarded a check during an event Saturday in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to a man identified as John Dreher. A message left with a number listed for Dreher was not returned Sunday. Musk gave out another check Sunday.
Musk’s America PAC has launched a tour of Pennsylvania, a critical election battleground. He's aiming to register voters in support of Trump, whom Musk has endorsed. The PAC is also pushing to persuade voters in other key states. It’s not the first offer of cash the organization has made. Musk has posted on X, the platform he purchased as Twitter before renaming it, that he would offer people US$47 — and then US$100 — for referring others to register and signing the petition.
