Elon Musk summoned to court over $1m giveaways to voters as US election approaches

31 October 2024, 00:39 | Updated: 31 October 2024, 00:57

Elon Musk has been summoned to an emergency court hearing over the $1million cash prizes he has been offering to voters in the swing state of Pennsylvania.

Musk, a vocal supporter of Donald Trump, pledged to give away $1 million every day to voters who support his pro-Trump petition in a move some believe could be illegal.

The billionaire has been summoned to an emergency hearing on Thursday and ordered by a judge in Philadelphia to address a civil case by the city's top prosecutor to stop giving the cash away.

The suit alleges Mr Musk and his political action committee, America PAC, are operating an illegal lottery and attempting to influence the results of next week’s election.

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The Space X and Tesla owner claims he is offering the cash to increase voter turnout in what he has described as a generation-defining election.

Donald Trump has said he plans to give Elon Musk a government job if he is successful in his bid for the White House.

Documents filed by Philadelphia's district attorney Larry Krasner, coming just over a week before election day, do not preclude potential criminal action.

"The Philadelphia district attorney is charged with protecting the public from public nuisances and unfair trade practices, including illegal lotteries.

"The DA is also charged with protecting the public from interference with the integrity of elections," Mr Krasner's office said in a statement published on its website.

A spokesperson for the billionaire tech mogul's America PAC, emailed for comment on the lawsuit and asked if the cash awards would continue, responded with a link to an X post, which showed the latest million-dollar winner holding an oversized cheque.

Mr Musk's giveaway requires entrants to sign a petition backing the First and Second Amendments of the Constitution and calls for them to serve as spokespeople for the organisation as a condition of winning.

The awards carried after election law experts raised questions that it violates federal law barring anyone from paying a person to vote or register to vote.

Elon Musk has committed around $70 million to America PAC, making it one of the largest political action committees operating this election.

This comes as President Joe Biden took a swipe against Trump supporters as he reacted to a weekend rally at Madison Square Garden, which was overshadowed by crude and racist rhetoric.

In a call organised by the Hispanic advocacy group Voto Latino on Tuesday, Mr Biden responded to a comic at the rally who called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage". Mr Biden's initial comments were garbled.

"Just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage. Well, let me tell you something, I don't, I don't know the Puerto Rican that I know, the Puerto Rico where I'm fr.. in my home state of Delaware. They're good, decent honourable people," he said.

The president added: "The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His demonisation of Latinos is unconscionable, and it's un-American. It's totally contrary to everything we've done, everything we've been."

White House spokesman Andrew Bates said Mr Biden "referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as 'garbage'".

Mr Biden also posted on X to say his garbage comment "referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico", saying it was the "only word I can think of to describe it".

"The demonisation of Latinos is unconscionable," he wrote. "That's all I meant to say. The comments at that rally don't reflect who we are as a nation."