Elon Musk announces daily $1 million giveaway to swing state voters

Topline

Elon Musk, a billionaire backer of former President Donald Trump, announced Saturday that he will randomly donate $1 million every day until the election to a swing-state voter who signs a petition from his super PAC – the latest controversial cash donation backed by a political action committee from the world's richest person.

Important facts

Get text alerts on Forbes breaking news: We're introducing SMS alerts to ensure you're always on top of the most important news breaking the day's headlines. Send an SMS “Notifications” to (201) 335-0739 or log in Here.

Main critic

Voting lawyer Rick Hasen said in a post on his blog that Musk's latest initiative was “clearly illegal” and argued it violated a federal law that prohibits “paying or offering to pay or accepting payment to register to vote.” or vote.” Pennsylvania's Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro also criticized the giveaways, saying on “Meet the Press” Sunday that Musk has the right to express his views, “but when you start putting that kind of money in “I think it raises serious questions about the flow of politics, people.” You might want to take a look. However, Shapiro declined to directly speculate on whether the gift was illegal. Forbes has reached out to Musk, his lawyer and America PAC for comment on and criticism of the giveaway.

Important background

Through his America PAC, Musk officially became a major Republican donor. Musk donated about $75 million to the PAC in the third quarter of 2024, accounting for virtually all of the group's fundraising, and the PAC spent about $72 million from July to September to support Trump's bid for the White House. Musk founded America PAC in May before endorsing Trump, although the company has since played a central role in Trump's campaign, with up to 400 employees in each of the seven swing states, The Guardian reported. Earlier this month, Musk announced that any petition signer who urges another registered swing state voter to sign their America PAC petition by October 21 will receive $47. Last week, Musk increased his offer to Pennsylvania voters, offering $100 per recommendation through Monday. Musk's giveaways have raised questions in the past. It is legal for someone to compensate signature collectors, but laws vary by state and some have banned pay-per-signature compensation methods (but America PAC is based in Texas, where there is no specific ban on this). And there are broader concerns about incentivizing people to register to vote, since it is federally illegal to pay someone to register. Meanwhile, Reuters reports that America PAC has struggled to meet its lofty goals as its canvassers spread across swing states and knock on scores of donor doors in the final weeks of the election.

Crucial quote

Dreher, who attended the rally in Harrisburg to support Musk and Trump and was the surprise first recipient of Musk's giveaway, was called to the stage in Harrisburg and later said he had been “for a while” because of the excitement of the meeting Forgot money.” Musk. He continued to encourage others in Pennsylvania to vote, saying, “For men my age who work every day, it's important, really important, to get out and vote.”

Big number

1 million. That's how many signatures Musk wants to get for his PAC's petition in support of the First and Second Amendments. It is not known how many signatures the petition currently has.

tangent

Musk endorsed Trump in July after the first assassination attempt on his life and has since advocated for the former president's support both in person and on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Trump has said that if elected in November, he would create a “Government Efficiency Commission” and appoint Musk to head it.

Forbes rating

Forbes estimates that Musk has a net worth of around $247.4 billion as of 10:45 a.m. EDT on Sunday, making him the richest person in the world. Trump has a net worth of around $5.5 billion, making him the 615th richest person in the world.

Further reading

ForbesElon Musk's PAC will pay $47 for every petition signature requested from a swing state voter – here's why that's controversialFrom Mary Whitfill RoeloffsNPRElon Musk has so far donated $75 million to get Donald Trump back into the White House