US Department of Justice responds to Musk's cash giveaways for petition support
Photo: Elon Musk (Getty Images)
The US Department of Justice criticized entrepreneur Elon Musk's initiative to award $1 million prizes to those who supported his petition, America PAC. This could violate federal law, according to CNN.
Federal law prohibits paying people to register to vote.
The petition text promises $1 million to randomly selected individuals for signing the initiative supporting free speech and the right to bear arms.
US citizens must be registered to vote in specific states to sign the petition.
Informed sources told CNN that Musk's political action committee received a warning letter from the US Department of Justice's Public Integrity Section, which investigates potential election law violations.
Previously, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat and former state attorney general, expressed concern about Musk's cash giveaways, stating they warrant legal scrutiny.
In response to reports that he allegedly pays for Republican registrations, Musk stated that winners "can be from any or no political party, and you don’t even have to vote."
Musk's pledge to pay petition signers
Recently, Elon Musk announced a $1 million prize from his America PAC aimed at increasing voter registrations in states facing contentious elections.
Musk openly supports former President Donald Trump and has spent millions backing his candidacy.
Musk's promise to pay registered voters immediately raised concerns among election law experts and some officials, who questioned whether it contradicted US legislation.
During Trump's campaign event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Musk stated he would "award $1 million randomly to people who have signed the petition, every day, from now until the election."
Notably, on Sunday, the PAC altered its message regarding prize distribution, describing the cash payments as compensation for work. In social media posts, the group stated that winners would be "selected to earn $1M as a spokesperson for America PAC", later sharing videos featuring winners providing testimonials about Trump.
However, several election law experts told CNN that the fine print on Musk's Super PAC website, explaining the official entry terms, had not changed.
It is noted that only those who sign the petition can win the $1 million prizes, and petition signers "must be registered voters of Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin."
It was previously reported that in 3 months, Elon Musk allocated about $75 million to his group to support Trump.
