Elon Musk said on Saturday that he will randomly pay $1 million every day to registered voters who sign a petition for his pro-Trump political action committee in an attempt to motivate his supporters in battleground states to vote.
Speaking at an America PAC event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Musk said, “I have a surprise for you,” adding that the prize money is available “every day from now until the election.”
Musk then approached a guy named John Dreher, who he said was one of the petition signers in attendance, and offered him a large cheque.
“I think this is kind of fun, and you know, it seems like a good use of money basically,” said Tesla CEO, worth over $250 billion.
READ MORE: Elon Musk Provides An Update As The Second Person Receives Neuralink Brain Implants
Musk, the CEO of military contractor SpaceX and the owner of social networking site X, went on a speaking tour in Pennsylvania to encourage voter registration in favor of the Republican candidate. He described the state as the “linchpin” in this race.
“How Pennsylvania goes I think is how the election goes,” Musk told reporters.
The deadline to sign the petition is Monday night, when Pennsylvania’s voter registration ends. The petition, placed on the America PAC website, said that signees “must be registered voters of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin.”
In a blog post, Rick Hasen, a UCLA law professor and NBC News election law analyst, stated that Musk’s initiative appears to be a violation of federal election laws, specifically one that states that anyone who “pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for registration to vote or for voting shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.”
“Certain things in this country can be sold, and certain things we have decided should not be for sale,” Hasen told CNBC. “Congress has determined you should not be able to sell your vote to the highest bidder, and we should not have the political process distorted by people with the most wealth who may try to get you to vote in a certain way.”
READ MORE: Don Lemon Sues Elon Musk For Fraud In Relation To The Failed X Deal… “You Used Me”
CNBC reached out to Musk and one of his advisers for comment, but neither responded.
In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro said Musk’s intention to donate money to registered voters in his state is “deeply concerning” and something that law enforcement should look into.
At pro-Trump rallies, Musk has promoted disproved voting fraud conspiracy theories, advocated for deregulation, and frequently referred to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Donald Trump’s opponents, as interchangeable “puppets.”
“No one’s even bothering to try to kill Kamala, you know, because there’s no point,” Musk remarked on Saturday, echoing a statement he’d made before that drew the Secret Service’s attention. “I am not proposing that someone attempt to murder her; it would be futile, but I am simply saying. I’m only making an observation.”
During his visits, Musk said that he believes many government agencies and laws in the United States are useless and unneeded. Musk’s plan to form a government efficiency panel has been taken up by Trump, who has said that the tech billionaire would play an important role in it.
“We shouldn’t trust the government. “We just shouldn’t,” Musk told Harrisburg. “Even if I’m in the government, don’t trust the government.”
While Musk’s enterprises have historically depended on government funding and assistance, he has chastised the Federal Communications Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries for stifling SpaceX.
“We get crazy things,” Mr. Musk continued, “like SpaceX got fined $140,000 for dumping potable drinking water on the ground at Starbase.”
As previously reported by CNBC, SpaceX has frequently released hot, industrial effluent into the wetlands around the company’s launch pad in Boca Chica, Texas, which the EPA determined to be a Clean Water Act violation.
Musk blasted NOAA Fisheries for requesting a study to anticipate how SpaceX’s rockets might affect sharks and whales if they fell into the water.
“I’m like, it’s a large ocean, and there are a lot of sharks. “It’s not impossible, but it’s highly unlikely,” Musk said. The organization’s purpose is to “conserve America’s coastal and marine resources.”
Musk’s hatred for Biden grew in 2021, when the White House rejected to invite Tesla to an electric car conference.
READ MORE: A Remote Tribe Becomes Addicted To Porn After Connecting To Elon Musk’s Starlink Internet
“You know, Tesla’s about 140,000 people — it’s like there’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears from people working hard to make great electric cars,” Musk told the crowd on Saturday. “To be shouldered like way for no reason. “What’s the deal?”
Musk has always opposed unions, and Tesla was accused of union busting prior to the EV summit. Biden has been pro-labor during his administration.
One Harrisburg attendee asked Musk whether he thought self-driving vehicles should become required if they outperformed human drivers in traffic safety. Tesla promised consumers a “robotaxi” for years but never delivered one.
Musk implied that he was opposed to anything federally imposed.
“We should just get the government out of things and let the market figure it out,” he said. “I basically oppose government. With that, I’d want to thank everyone for attending. It has been an honor to chat with you.
Musk only referenced Trump a few times during the evening, and he did not go into length on his policies or record as president.
Radiant TV, offering to elevate your entertainment game! Movies, TV series, exclusive interviews, music, and more—download now on various devices, including iPhones, Androids, smart TVs, Apple TV, Fire Stick, and more.
