Musk settles election lottery lawsuits over $1 million voter giveaways

This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. End of dialog window. Tech billionaire Elon Musk agreed to settle two lawsuits over his $1 million check handouts to battleground voters in the 2024 election, according to court filings published Thursday. The suits, filed in the Western District of Texas, accused the Tesla and SpaceX CEO of defrauding voters when his political action committee (PAC), America PAC, offered a $1 million giveaway to swing state voters every day leading up to the 2024 general election. Musk first made the pledge in October 2024 in Pennsylvania, and eventually made similar promises in Michigan, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin and North Carolina. “The only thing we ask for the million dollars is that you be a spokesperson for the petition,” Musk told a recipient he handpicked from the audience at the time. The lawsuits argued that voters were misled when they signed the petition and were told recipients would be chosen at “random” as in a lottery. Musk told a Philadelphia judge that winners were not chosen by random but chosen to be paid “spokespeople for the group.” The tech mogul was ordered to testify under oath in June but had not yet testified before the settlements were reached. The details of the settlement were not included in public filings, and The Hill reached out to the plaintiffs’ and Musk’s legal teams for more information. In Wisconsin, Musk made a different pledge for $1 million check handouts to voters during the state’s Supreme Court election last year. Musk initially announced in March 2025 that he would speak in Wisconsin, with entrance limited to those who had voted in the state’s Supreme Court election. He said on the social platform X he would “personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote.” About 12 hours later, his post was deleted and replaced with another, clarifying entrance was limited to those who signed the petition against “activist judges.” Musk said the money would be given to “spokesmen” for the petition, and he went to hand out two checks during a campaign rally in Wisconsin. La Crosse County, Wisc. District Attorney Tim Gruenke (D) announced in August his office declined to press charges over the handouts, arguing that in the end, “nobody was paid anything of value for voting or promising to vote.” Despite Musk’s efforts, the conservative candidate he backed, Brad Schimel, lost to Democratic-backed Susan Crawford, keeping the high court’s liberal majority. While Musk has not made similar pledges this election cycle, the SpaceX CEO is shaping up to be the largest known donor of the 2026 midterms for Republicans. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.