Elon Musk settles lawsuits over $1 million voter giveaway
In 2024, Elon Musk promised to give away $1 million a day to a randomly selected registered voter in a swing state. That prompted legal challenges, raised questions about its legality, and drew lawsuits from two Arizona residents claiming the lottery was a fraud. Musk has now agreed to settle the two lawsuits filed in Austin, Texas, though the details of the settlement have not been made public. The plaintiffs claim…
Key points
- Elon Musk agreed to settle two lawsuits in Austin, Texas, over his 2024 $1 million voter giveaway.
- The settlement details have not been made public.
- Plaintiffs said they would not have signed the petition had they known the drawings were not random.
Elon Musk has agreed to settle two lawsuits filed in Austin, Texas, over his 2024 promise to give $1 million a day to a randomly selected registered voter in a swing state. The details of the settlement have not been made public.
The lawsuits were brought by two Arizona residents who claimed the lottery was a fraud. Philadelphia's District Attorney also sued to stop the giveaway, arguing Musk was running an illegal lottery.
Randomness disputed in court
During a hearing, Chris Gober, a representative for Musk's America PAC, told the judge that "The $1 million recipients are not chosen by chance … We know exactly who will be announced as the $1 million recipient today and tomorrow." The article states this directly contradicted Musk's claim that the drawings were random.
The $1 million recipients are not chosen by chance … We know exactly who will be announced as the $1 million recipient today and tomorrow.
— Chris Gober
Claims over petition data
The plaintiffs say they never would have signed the petition required to enter the giveaway if they had known it was not random. They accused Musk and America PAC of using the giveaway as a ploy to obtain user data, saying the petition "places no limitations on America PAC's use of or sale of the personal data it collects, nor does it provide any additional information about the planned use of data."
