Billionaire Elon Musk is once again using his extraordinary wealth to influence the presidential race between Republican nominee Donald Trump and rival Kamala Harris.
On Saturday, the Tesla and SpaceX founder promised to give away US$1 million each day until November’s election to a registered voter in key swing states who signs his online petition supporting the U.S. Constitution, “in favor of free speech and the right to bear arms.”
He said the award will be given to a random signee of the conservative-leaning petition, which was released by his campaign group, America PAC, which he set up to support Trump’s bid to return to the White House.
And he made good on his monetary promise Saturday, handing over the substantial cheque to an attendee at a town hall event on Saturday night.
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.
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Musk has said he’s aiming to get at least one million signatures on his PAC’s petition. It is not known how many signatures the petition currently has.
However, some experts are raising questions around the legality of Musk’s million-dollar giveaways.
As reported by the BBC, election law expert and UCLA professor Rick Hasen wrote on his personal blog that he believes the tactic is “clearly illegal,” because federal law states 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 five year prison sentence.
“And who can sign the petitions? Only registered voters in swing states, which is what makes it illegal,” Hasen wrote.
Hasen told NBC News on Sunday that Musk’s PAC is only offering the payments to registered voters, not the general public at large, which is what could make the scheme illegal.
“Essentially what you’re doing is you are creating a lottery. You’re creating a lottery where the only people eligible to participate in the lottery are people who register to vote, or are registered to vote, and that’s illegal,” Hasen said.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro also raised his concerns about the strategy on NBC News’ Meet the Press.
“Musk obviously has a right to be able to express his views. He’s made it very, very clear that he supports Donald Trump. I don’t. Obviously we have a difference of opinion,” Shapiro, a Democrat, said, adding: “I don’t deny him that, right, but when you start flowing this kind of money into politics, I think it raises serious questions.”
Musk began holding a series of solo events in support of Trump for president this week, encouraging voters in Pennsylvania to register to cast their ballots and vote early – although he’s faced skepticism and pushback from the crowds.
Trump for years has sowed doubt about mail and early voting by claiming it was rife with fraud, though voter fraud is rare in the United States. This year, Republicans are making a renewed push to encourage their supporters to vote early and lock in their ballots, though they acknowledge skepticism from those conditioned by Trump’s false claims.
Saturday’s event was the third in as many days in Pennsylvania, where Musk is painting November’s election in stark terms.
He said on Saturday that if Harris wins, it will be “the last election,” suggesting the U.S. will no longer exist.
He also said the two assassination attempts against Trump prove he is ruffling feathers and upending the status quo in ways Harris won’t. He said that’s why no one is trying to kill Harris.
“Assassinating a puppet is worthless,” Musk said, reiterating an argument he has made in a social media post.
— with files from Reuters and The Associated Press
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