Will Elon Musk's million-dollar election scheme pay off?
By offering a million bucks to prospective voters to sign his pro-Trump petition, the Tesla billionaire is playing a risky electoral game — and a potentially criminal one, too


Elon Musk has never met a problem he couldn't throw a fortune at. With more money to his name than anyone else in the history of the human race, the Tesla CEO has made little secret of his plans to put that historic wealth in the service of reelecting Donald Trump — particularly in the perennial battleground state of Pennsylvania, where Musk appeared alongside the former president at a recent rally, urging the MAGA faithful to "just be a pest" about voter registration for their friends and family.
Now, with just weeks to go before polls close on the 2024 presidential election, Musk is once again betting big that his money will be a decisive factor in an election cycle that's already blown past fundraising records on both sides of the aisle. Last weekend, Musk announced he would award $1 million every day to a new, randomly chosen registered Pennsylvania voter who signs a conservative-skewing petition created by his pro-Trump America PAC. "I think this is kind of fun," Musk said on Saturday, as he introduced a man identified as John Dreher, his first newly-minted millionaire. "It seems like a good use of money basically."
While Musk is of course free to give his money to whomever he'd like, his plan to entice and reward signatories of his not-so-subtly pro-Trump enterprise by bumping them to a higher tax bracket is slightly more complicated — and potentially illegal.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What did the commentators say?
While Musk has obviously succeeded at pulling eyeballs to his sweepstakes, the fact that the first two recipients of his largesse were "Republican voters who had participated in recent non-presidential elections and already cast their ballots by mail this year" raises the question of whether the scheme is "activating a new segment of voters — incentivizing people to register or cast ballots — or just tapping into an existing pool of Musk and Trump fans," Politico said. Musk's skill as a "pitchman able to draw attention" is without question, but "what he offers in oversized cardboard checks for $1 million doesn't have much value," said Chris Brennan at USA Today.
Crucially, because Musk's sweepstakes are technically nonpartisan, Democrats can also "sign this petition and get a shot at the $1m and then vote for Kamala Harris," Sun Microsystems co-founder and fellow tech billionaire Vinod Khosla said on X. Democrat entrants would not only "gum up Musk's operation" by "muddying his database with an unknown number of Democrats," said Fortune, but they could ultimately "drain resources that could have otherwise gone to mobilizing voters for Donald Trump by wasting it on the opposing side."
I’d encourage all democrats to sign this petition and get a shot at the $1m and then vote for @KamalaHarris. @elonmusk offers $1 million a day to entice swing state voters to sign petition https://t.co/1xtEoxkMlTOctober 20, 2024
Risk of Democratic gamification aside, Musk's giveaway faces a more immediate, acute threat as well: the question of legality. The sweepstakes operates in a "legal gray zone that appears to be open to interpretation," said Fox News. While paying someone to vote or register to vote is illegal, offering benefits to help people vote is "legal and common," The New York Times said, citing rides to polling places, or workplaces affording employees paid time off to vote as examples of allowed behavior. Because Musk is "not directly paying for voter registration — but rather for a petition signature that happens to be open only to registered voters," the billionaire's supporters argue that the giveaway is ultimately within the bounds of federal election law. Legal technicalities notwithstanding, the sweepstakes has already earned the suspicion of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D). Musk's giveaway is "something that law enforcement could take a look at," Shapiro said last week on NBC's "Meet the Press."

What next?
If he is violating the applicable election law statute, Musk could face up to five years in prison, and $10,000 in fines, although "I don't think it would be likely that he would suffer such a serious fine," UCLA election law professor Richard Hasen said to NPR. However, if Musk was "warned that this is illegal activity and continued to do it, I think that would create a different kind of situation."
To that end, a group of former Justice Department officials and Republican lawmakers have petitioned Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Musk's giveaway, arguing in a letter obtained by The Washington Post that the sweepstakes is in clear violation of election law. "We are aware of nothing like this in modern political history," the group said. Although law enforcement is "appropriately reluctant to take action shortly before elections that could affect how people vote," the letter said, "serious questions arising under laws that directly regulate the voting process must be an exception."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.
-
Donald Trump's foreign policy flip in the Middle East
Talking Point Surprise lifting of sanctions on Syria shows Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar are now effectively 'dictating US foreign policy'
-
Elon Musk says he's 'done enough' political spending. What does that really mean?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The world's richest man predicted he'd do 'a lot less' electoral financing moving forward. Has Washington seen the last of the tech titan?
-
'Organ donation is kindness'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
GOP megabill would limit judicial oversight of Trump
speed read The domestic policy bill Republicans pushed through the House would protect the Trump administration from the consequences of violating court orders
-
Home energy: Bills are up, efficiency is out
Feature The Energy Star program saves Americans billions of dollars, but the Trump administration plans to 'eliminate' it.
-
Hurricane season is here. How will Trump's FEMA respond?
Today's Big Question An internal review says the agency is not ready for big storms
-
Trump lectures South Africa president on 'white genocide'
speed read Trump has cut off aid to South Africa over his demonstrably false genocide claims
-
'These businesses have appealed to generations'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day