Elon Musk has said he will give away $1 million a day to a registered voter in key swing states until the presidential election on November 5.
The winner will be chosen at random from those who sign a pro-US Constitution petition by Elon Musk’s campaign group AmericaPAC, which he set up to support Republican nominee Donald Trump’s bid to return to the White House.
The first lottery-style cheque was given away to a surprised attendee at a town hall event in Pennsylvania on October 19. Another cheque was handed out on the next day.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat who supports Kamala Harris, called Elon Musk’s strategy “deeply concerning.”
Josh Shapiro told NBC News’ Meet the Press that law enforcement should potentially look at the payments.
The contest is open to voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina, all key battleground states that will ultimately decide the White House election.
Federal law states that anyone who “pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for registration to vote or for voting” faces a potential $10,000 fine or a five-year prison sentence.
Though the tech billionaire is technically asking voters to sign a form, the intent behind the strategy seems controversial to experts.
Those who sign the petition – which pledges to support free speech and gun rights – must submit their contact details, potentially allowing AmericaPAC to contact them about their vote.
Campaigns and political action committees rely on tactics like petition signing, survey requests, or merchandise purchases to build massive databases of voter information. That data can then be used more accurately to target voters, or raise funds from supporters who are already onboard.
In Pennsylvania, Elon Musk is giving voters $100 for signing the petition, plus another $100 for each person they refer who signs. Voters in other battleground states get $47 per referral.
However, the strategy may be covered by a loophole under US election law because no-one is being directly paid to vote – despite introducing money into a process that could identify likely Trump voters.
In the US, it is illegal to provide payments to get people to vote – not only for a certain candidate, but to simply cast a ballot.
The rule prompted icecream-maker Ben & Jerry’s to give its product free to everyone on election day in 2008, having initially planned to limit it just to those with an “I voted” sticker.
While campaigning on October 20, Donald Trump was asked about Elon Musk’s giveaway.
“I haven’t followed that,” the former president said, adding that he speaks to Elon Musk often and he is a “friend”.
Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of X, formerly Twitter, has emerged as a key Trump supporter.
He launched AmericaPAC in July with the aim of supporting the former president’s campaign.
He has so far donated $75 million to the group, which has quickly become a central player in Trump’s election bid.
The Trump campaign is highly reliant on outside groups such as AmericaPAC to canvas voters.
Image source: theamericapac.org
A statement on the group’s website reads: “AmericaPAC was created to support these key values: Secure Borders, Safe Cities, Sensible spending, Fair Justice System, Free Speech, Right to Self-Protection.”
Elon Musk said he wants to get “over a million, maybe two million, voters in the battleground states to sign the petition in support of the First and Second Amendment”.
“I think [it] sends a crucial message to our elected politicians,” he added.
Elon Musk is currently the world’s richest man, with an estimated net worth of $248 billion, according to Forbes.
