Musk Staves Off Pennsylvania Bid to Stop $1 Million Giveaway (1)

Elon Musk temporarily staved off a challenge to his daily million-dollar giveaway to voters ahead of Tuesday’s presidential election, as a judge in the battleground state of Pennsylvania ended a hearing without ruling on the bid to block it.

The hearing Thursday came after Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner sued Musk over the sweepstakes, claiming it violates state lottery and consumer protection law. Judge Angelo Foglietta paused the proceedings while Musk tries to get the case taken over by a federal court. A hearing in US District Court in Philadelphia could take place as early as Friday.

Musk’s pro-Donald Trump America PAC has been giving away $1 million every day until Election Day, Nov. 5, to a randomly selected registered voter who signs a petition calling for free speech and the right to bear arms. The contest doesn’t specify which candidate voters should choose, but Musk has become a famous champion of Trump — on his social media platform X and elsewhere — and the contest features photographs of Musk handing winners oversize checks.

Elon Musk gives away a $1 million check during a town hall in Pittsburgh on Oct. 20.

Photographer: Michael Swensen/Getty Images

In a Friday morning court filing, lawyers for Musk told US District Judge Gerald J. Pappart that the case involves a “quintessential question” of federal law, calling Krasner’s lawsuit a “manufactured and phony ‘emergency.’”

Musk’s attorneys said the DA is attempting to restrain “core political speech” that is protected by the First Amendment simply because he disagrees with the speaker.

Krasner had argued a day earlier that the case should return to state court immediately, saying the attempt to move it is a “stunt” to “run the clock until Election Day.”

Federal election law prohibits paying people to register to vote. What’s murkier is whether paying voters who are already registered to sign a petition is a violation. The USJustice Departmentsent Musk’s PAC a letter last week warning that the contest might violate federal law.

Krasner, one of the progressive prosecutors Trump has singled out for derision, had asked the court to stop Musk from engaging in what he claims is an unlawful sweepstakes. He claims it lulls Philadelphia citizens “to give up their personal identifying information and make a political pledge” in exchange for a chance at the prize.

The suit — the first official legal challenge Musk has faced over the giveaway program — comes amid a highly polarized and contentious election season, as Trump seeks to regain the White House in a neck-and-neck race with Vice President Kamala Harris. In one sign of the tensions, Krasner requested extra security at Thursday’s hearing.

At one point in the state court hearing Thursday, lawyers for Krasner noted that Musk was absent. The judge had ordered all the parties to appear.

“He’s a very busy man,” Musk’s lawyers responded, saying their client can’t just appear anywhere on 12 hours’ notice.

Krasner’s lawyer noted that Musk runs SpaceX, to which the judge responded, “He’s not going to get on a rocket ship and land on the building — let’s be serious,” drawing laughter in the courtroom.

Musk’s lawyers assured the judge that their client would attend future proceedings.

District Attorney Larry Krasner, center, leaves the hearing in Philadelphia on Oct. 31.

Photographer: Ryan Collerd/Bloomberg

QuickTake: Is Musk’s $1 Million a Day Election Giveaway Legal?

Musk, the world’s richest person, has tussled with legal and regulatory authorities before. In San Francisco, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has asked a federal judge to impose sanctions on him for skipping a court-ordered deposition by the agency. His lawyer argued Musk’s absence was justified because he needed to be in Florida to supervise a launch for a commercial spacewalk.

The new case is Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. America PAC and Elon Musk, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas (Philadelphia County).

(Adds filings on federal court issues starting in fourth paragraph)

--With assistance from Sabrina Willmer and Malathi Nayak.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Chris Dolmetsch in Federal Court in Manhattan at cdolmetsch@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou at megkolfopoul@bloomberg.net;
Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net

Peter Jeffrey, Anthony Aarons

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