The renowned tech billionaire and Trump supporter, Elon Musk, has recently announced that he is offering $1 million a day to one lucky voter from swing states as he steps up his efforts to back the Republican presidential nominee. Musk revealed that he will give a daily $1 million reward to registered voters until the presidential election day, which will happen in two weeks.
However, experts who have looked into this move by the Tesla CEO claim that this is illegal to the United States' election law, and it does not only focus on this cash price for voters but also their signatories in Musk's America PAC movement.
Elon Musk Offers $1M to 1 Swing-State Voter a Day Until Nov. 5
During a rally in Pennsylvania over the weekend, Musk appeared publicly again to offer Trump his support, but he also leveraged a massive $1 million sum to a person present at the event. According to The Verge, Musk pledged that he will be giving away $1 million per day until the election day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, to a lucky voter via his latest sweepstakes.
Musk said his team over at America PAC will choose a random voter who will win the huge prize money provided that they sign the petition found on the website.
Last Saturday, it was Pennsylvania, and this Sunday, they are choosing a winner in Pittsburgh. However, it was later revealed that they will offer these prizes to petition signees who live in swing states like Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and more.
Musk's America PAC Movement and Sweepstakes Are Illegal
UCLA political science professor Rick Hansen claimed in his latest Election Law Blog post that this move by the visionary is illegal and is in violation of the United States' election laws.
Hansen cited the 52 USC 10307 (c), which states that no one is allowed to pay users to register or vote, as well as accept payments for the process. Violators of this specific election law may face $10,000 fines and five years of prison time.
It was also revealed that paying users who sign the petition and its referral program is also legally questionable.
Elon Musk's Scrutiny with the Law
Musk is not exactly a model citizen with his campaigns, with the renowned business mogul known for facing scrutiny by the law because of his antics and beliefs that are publicly displayed online. He previously faced a lawsuit from Tesla shareholders and the SEC for his controversial tweets about taking Tesla public, which he previously settled for but was recently reopened by board members.
He most recently went against Brazil's Supreme Court and Justice Alexandre de Moraes by refusing to follow orders to ban certain accounts on X, claiming that their mandates were not in accordance with his "free speech" beliefs. While holding out against Brazil and recently facing a ban, Musk and X eventually caved in and followed the orders to return X Brazil's normal operations.
Musk backed Trump for this upcoming national election to be the next president of the United States, and both have made controversial posts on X, backing the Republican bet despite his AI-generated misinformation posted online. To further have people join the America PAC, Musk is offering $1 million in cash to sweepstakes winners who signed up for the petition, but it could land him another lawsuit and fines.
