In the latest Elon Musk news, a Pennsylvania judge ruled that Elon Musk’s political action committee can continue its controversial $1 million-a-day sweepstakes through the 2024 presidential election, despite objections from Pennsylvania District Attorney Larry Krasner and federal warnings about election law compliance.
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The sweepstakes began as a campaign led by Musk’s PAC, America PAC, which is aligned with Republican candidates particularly supporting Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
The PAC pledged to give out $1 million daily in key swing states, reportedly selecting recipients who align with the PAC’s values and advocacy for constitutional rights particularly free speech and the Second Amendment.
Initially slated to continue until Election Day, the promotion has faced legal challenges but was permitted by a court ruling to proceed until November 5, 2024.
In the latest Elon Musk news, Judge Angelo Foglietta from Pennsylvania’s Court of Common Pleas ruled that the sweepstakes could proceed through Election Day, rejecting the suspension request from District Attorney Krasner.
While the judge allowed the sweepstakes to proceed, he did not immediately explain his decision in detail.
Larry Krasner argued that the sweepstakes constitutes an illegal lottery under Pennsylvania state law. He labeled it a scam designed to influence the national election in favor of the Republican Party.
Larry Krasner’s legal team accused Elon Musk’s PAC of operating a deceptive marketing strategy masked as a lottery, intended to attract voter support and harvest voter data for the PAC’s political benefit.
In the latest Elon Musk news, the Department of Justice raised concerns that Musk’s daily $1 million giveaways might contravene federal election laws especially laws that prohibit offering incentives to encourage voter registration.
The PAC requires participants to sign a petition in support of constitutional rights, which Musk’s lawyers argue is not an inducement to vote but an expression of free speech.
Chris Gober, Musk’s attorney argued that the $1 million recipients are not chosen randomly. Instead, the PAC vets winners as spokespeople who represent its values, eliminating the possibility of chance and in their view, sidestepping lottery regulations.
Larry Krasner’s legal team challenged the PAC’s defense, pointing out that Musk initially marketed the sweepstakes with terms like randomly and chance.
Larry Krasner’s team said that this language clearly implies a lottery structure. Krasner indicated his office would consider pursuing both criminal and civil damages on behalf of Pennsylvania residents who participated, arguing they were scammed for their information.
The PAC has collected data from over 1 million people across battleground states including Pennsylvania. Larry Krasner argued that this data could be used for political influence well after the election.
The lack of transparency around data usage raised concerns among Krasner’s team, who questioned how long the PAC would retain voter information and whether it could be shared with other groups or campaigns.
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In the latest Elon Musk news, the PAC has focused its $1 million daily giveaways in battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Michigan, where voter influence could sway the election.
On November 4, Musk’s attorney Chris Gober revealed in a Pennsylvania court that the recipients were not randomly chosen.
Instead, winners were selected based on their potential to serve as effective spokespersons for Elon Musk’s pro-Trump agenda. This statement directly contradicts Musk’s public assurance of random selection.
Larry Krasner’s lawsuit accuses Musk’s America PAC of running an illegal lottery, claiming that the non-random selection process makes the giveaway legally problematic.
Larry Krasner argued that Musk’s misrepresentation about the randomness of the giveaway constitutes consumer fraud, as petition signers were misled regarding their chances of winning.
In his pursuit to halt the giveaway, Krasner presented evidence of Musk’s statements about the random nature of the selection process and sought financial penalties against Musk and America PAC.
Musk’s legal team argued that because winners were selected based on their capacity to serve as spokespersons, the giveaway doesn’t qualify as a lottery under Pennsylvania law, which requires random selection.
Krasner clarified that he won’t demand winners return their prize money but intends to penalize Musk and his PAC financially.
Musk has been vocal in his support of former President Donald Trump and has reportedly contributed over $118 million to re-elect Trump.
In the latest Elon Musk news, Legal experts in consumer protection such as Christopher Peterson from the University of Utah, have identified Musk’s actions as clear-cut consumer fraud, as he promised a random drawing while selectively choosing winners.
There’s an additional question over whether Musk’s giveaway violates federal election laws that prohibit payments to incentivize voting or registering to vote.
While the Department of Justice has issued warnings to America PAC, there’s no formal action from federal authorities yet.
However, experts speculate the Federal Trade Commission could consider investigating the issue as a deceptive trade practice.
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