Elon Musk’s Controversial Cash Giveaway Scheme Cleared by Philadelphia Court
A Philadelphia court has granted Elon Musk the green light to proceed with his controversial cash giveaway initiative, which has been likened to a lottery. This decision comes despite the court’s acknowledgment that the winners of Musk’s giveaways were chosen in a selective manner.
Philadelphia District Attorney (DA) Larry Krasner had accused Musk of running afoul of Pennsylvania lottery laws. However, Judge Angelo Foglietta of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas dismissed the DA’s request to halt the giveaways, concluding that there was no evidence of ‘lottery fraud’ since a legitimate lottery was never established in the first place.
During the court proceedings, representatives from Musk’s organization admitted that the selection of giveaway winners was not random. Krasner characterized this practice as “political marketing masquerading as a lottery.” Musk, the billionaire founder of Tesla and owner of X, organized a raffle aimed at distributing $1 million (approximately €921,000) daily among voters in key swing states who signed a petition linked to his political action committee.
Over one million individuals from seven states—Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—participated in the sweepstakes by signing a petition advocating for the rights to free speech and the right to bear arms, which encompass the first two amendments of the US Constitution. Musk declared, “We’re going to be awarding a million dollars randomly to people who have signed the petition every day from now until the election,” during one of Donald Trump’s election campaign rallies.
From the outset, the legitimacy of the giveaway faced scrutiny, as every winner was present at the rallies where Musk distributed the monetary awards. During the hearing, Chris Young, the treasurer of America PAC—Musk’s political action committee that supports Trump—revealed that the winners were not chosen through random selection. He disclosed that he was aware in advance of who would receive the funds, and the winners were informed they would be called on stage at Musk’s events, although they were not told they would actually win a prize.
Chris Gober, a lawyer representing the Republican Party, stated that the recipients were selected based on their personal narratives and were required to sign a contract with America PAC, which also included a non-disclosure agreement. He noted that the final recipients—scheduled for Monday and Tuesday—would be in Arizona and Michigan, indicating that this would not impact the electoral landscape in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania remains a pivotal battleground state with 19 electoral votes, and both Trump and Vice President Harris have made repeated visits to the area. Krasner mentioned that he might consider pursuing criminal charges, given his responsibility for ensuring the integrity of both lotteries and elections.
This situation is part of a civil case initiated by Krasner, who has accused Musk’s PAC of violating state election laws. Furthermore, this is not the only scrutiny Musk’s giveaway is facing; the US Department of Justice is also investigating whether the initiative infringes upon national election laws, as it is illegal to financially incentivize individuals to vote or register to vote. While neither Trump nor America PAC are directly compensating voters, the petition necessary to participate in the sweepstakes mandates that entrants must be registered voters.
This is not the first instance where Musk’s PAC has offered financial incentives. Previously, Musk announced on X that he would provide individuals with $100 (around €92) for successfully referring registered voters as well as for signing the petition.
