Elon Musk is being sued by the feds for fraud. The billionaire entrepreneur and founder of America PAC is said to have siphoned off his $1 million daily giveaways throughout the 2024 U.S. presidential election cycle. On the actual election day, November 5, 2024, a complaint was filed against Musk. The suit alleges that he tricked voters into signing a nominating petition that impossibly pledged to defend the U.S. Constitution.
In the midst of an intense election season, Musk launched America PAC to bolster Donald Trump’s campaign for the presidency. Musk launched the first of a weekend’s worth of daily $50,000 giveaways. One particularly eye-catching prize was a full $1 million in reward money for anyone who could get a petition signed. Arizona resident Jacqueline McAferty alleges that Musk and America PAC deceived her and others into providing their personal information. She claims that their ads were false and misleading.
Legal Proceedings and Allegations
U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman, nominated by President Barack Obama in 2014, was the judge hearing the case in Austin, Texas. He acknowledged that McAferty’s allegations raised significant concerns regarding the legality of Musk’s actions. Judge Pitman underscored how novel the case is, noting that it may require expertise in the emerging field of political data brokerage. This guru might have spoken to the value of the personal data harvested from voters in key, nail-biter battlegrounds.
To say Musk just defended his actions is an understatement. He identified a number of these “red flags” to back up his assertion that he wasn’t operating an illegal lottery. In his defense, he claimed that participants were “specially chosen to win” as opposed to being simply given the money. Judge Pitman observed that press releases from Musk and America PAC suggested that they were “awarding” the $1 million prize. The reality, of course, is that this idea might run afoul of statutory prohibitions against this type of promotion.
“awarding” – Reuters
Court Rulings and Responses
On November 4, a judge in Philadelphia took a big step. That’s what he did when he rejected efforts to curb Musk’s giveaway program just one day before this lawsuit was filed. Another judge determined that the city’s chief prosecutor didn’t provide sufficient evidence. By doing so, the giveaways were not considered illegal lotteries. This ruling allowed Musk to trumpet his plan without fear of being challenged. Even after that he wasn’t legally in the clear.
In her lawsuit, McAferty alleged that Musk employed fraudulent practices to attract voters across seven battleground states. In his announcement, he offered financial incentives to attract voters to sign his petition. She argues that this bad faith approach was a fraudulent inducement, eroding faith in our electoral process.
Musk has denied, in public statements, that any signers of the petition suffered any injury by revealing their email addresses. The court is still grappling with what this extensive data collection means. This raises serious questions about privacy and supranational ethical campaigning practices.
The Impact on Campaign Dynamics
The litigation against Elon Musk and America PAC demonstrates the evolution of campaign finance. It demonstrates the future of voter engagement strategies in today’s elections. Technology is completely changing how candidates reach and engage with future voters. As this evolution continues, we can look forward to much more legal scrutiny about these practices.
Lawyers for Musk and America PAC did not respond to inquiries about this developing story. Though an ongoing case, it has already started to define the legal limits of political campaigns. It would go a long way towards defining the culpability of people who use private knowledge to help them get elected.
