Musk’s daily $1m Trump support prize raises legal red flags

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania — Billionaire Elon Musk promised on Saturday to give away $1m daily until November’s election to someone who signs his online petition, with the first prize awarded at a PAC event supporting Republican Donald Trump, raising questions about the legality of the payments.

Musk gave a $1m cheque to an attendee of his America PAC event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, aimed at rallying supporters behind presidential candidate Trump. The winner was a man named John Dreher, according to event staff.

“By the way, John had no idea. So anyway, you’re welcome,” the Tesla founder said as he handed Dreher the cheque.

The money is the latest example of Musk using his extraordinary wealth to influence the tightly contested presidential race between Trump and his Democratic rival vice-president Kamala Harris.

Musk started America PAC, a political action organisation he founded in support of Trump’s presidential campaign. The group is helping mobilise and register voters in battleground states, but there are signs it is having trouble meeting its goals.

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro said on Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press that Musk’s plan to give money to registered voters in Pennsylvania is “deeply concerning” and “it’s something that law enforcement could take a look at”.

Questions about the legality of these cash payments abounded on Saturday night, as election law experts pointed to various provisions in federal law that prohibited making cash payments to voters.

It is a federal crime to pay people with the intention of inducing or rewarding them to cast a vote or to get registered, an offence punishable by prison time. The prohibition covers not only monetary expenditures, but also anything of monetary value such as liquor or lottery chances, a justice department election-crimes manual reads.

The Harrisburg event was the third in as many days in Pennsylvania, where Musk is painting November’s election in stark terms and encouraging supporters to vote early and get others to do the same.

He repeated on Saturday that if Harris wins, it would be “the last election”.

He also said the two assassination attempts against Trump proved he was ruffling feathers and upending the status quo.

The petition Musk is asking people to sign reads: “The First and Second Amendments guarantee freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. By signing below, I am pledging my support for the First and Second Amendments.”

Attendees of Saturday’s event had to sign the petition, which allows America PAC to garner contact details for more potential voters that it can work to get to the polls for Trump.

Musk, ranked by Forbes as the world’s richest person, so far has supplied at least $75m to America PAC, according to federal disclosures, making the group a crucial part of Trump’s bid to regain the White House.

The entrepreneur behind carmaker Tesla and rocket and satellite venture SpaceX has increasingly supported Republican causes and this year became an outspoken Trump supporter.

Trump in turn has said if elected he would appoint Musk to head a government efficiency commission.

Reuters