Philadelphia DA sues Elon Musk's America PAC over its $1 million giveaway

[October 29, 2024]  By MIKE CATALINI

The district attorney of Philadelphia filed a lawsuit Monday to halt Elon Musk 's $1 million giveaways as part of his political organization's effort boosting Donald Trump 's presidential campaign.

The suit by Democratic District Attorney Larry Krasner is the first legal action to be brought over the America PAC's sweepstakes offering $1 million every day until Nov. 5 to a person in a battleground state who has signed a petition supporting the Constitution.

Krasner's office said the lawsuit, coming just over a week before Election Day, doesn't preclude potential criminal action.

“The Philadelphia District Attorney is charged with protecting the public from public nuisances and unfair trade practices, including illegal lotteries. The DA is also charged with protecting the public from interference with the integrity of elections,” Krasner's office said in a statement published on its website.

A spokesperson for the billionaire tech mogul's America PAC, emailed for comment on the lawsuit and asked if the cash awards would continue, responded with a link to an X post, which showed the latest $1 million winner holding an oversize check.

Before the lawsuit, election law experts raised questions that it violates federal law barring anyone from paying a person to vote or register to vote. The issue, they say, is that winning the award requires contestants to be registered to vote in one of a handful of battleground states. Musk has cast the money as both a prize as well as earnings for work as a spokesperson for the group.

But the lawsuit makes clear that it's not about vote-buying. Instead, the DA says, the case centers on running a lottery.

“This case is very simple because America PAC and Musk are indisputably violating Pennsylvania’s statutory prohibitions against illegal lotteries and deceiving consumers,” the suit says.

It said examples of deception include not providing a complete set of contest rules including odds of winning and details on how winners are selected.

Reflecting the state's importance in the election, both Harris and Trump have made numerous recent visits to Pennsylvania, including Trump’s photo op at a suburban Philadelphia McDonald’s and Harris’ Sunday visit in the city that included stops at a church and a barbershop.

Elon Musk speaks a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Speaking in Delaware after casting his ballot Monday, President Joe Biden called the giveaway “totally inappropriate.”

Some attending Musk's events have a different view.

Michele Costantino, 64, a retired health care administrator from Elverson, Pennsylvania, said she thought the giveaway was a “good idea.”

“I think he’s playing the same game as the other side,” said Costantino, standing outside Musk’s rally Saturday in Lancaster. “If you need to flash some big money to get people’s attention, I think it’s a good idea.”

Musk's giveaway requires entrants to sign a petition backing the First and Second Amendments of the Constitution and calls for them to serve as spokespeople for the organization as a condition of winning.

The woman awarded the $1 million check that was presented by Musk on stage Saturday in Lancaster declined to comment about it afterward to a reporter, saying she was directed to leave the town hall event before it was over.

Musk, who founded SpaceX and Tesla and owns X, has gone all in on Trump this election, saying he thinks civilization is at stake if he loses. He is undertaking much of the get-out-the-vote effort for Trump through his super PAC, which can raise and spend unlimited sums of money. He has committed more than $70 million to the super PAC to help Trump and other Republicans win in November.

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Associated Press writers Colleen Long in Washington and Mark Scolforo in Lancaster, Pa., contributed to this report.

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