A Pennsylvania judge ruled Monday that the so-called $1 million daily ‘lottery’ promoted by tycoon Elon Musk among registered voters in support of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump can continue through this Tuesday, Election Day.
Judge Angelo Foglietta’s decision comes after Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner sued Musk and his campaign committee, America PAC, over the initiative a week ago, and a hearing on the issue was held today in court.
Flogietta rejected the DA’s demand to block the lottery, which has been operating ever since, and did not offer an explanation in his order.
The Tesla and SpaceX founder caused controversy by promising two weeks ago to give $1 million a day until Election Day to registered voters in seven key states who sign an America PAC petition backing free speech and gun carry.
U.S. Attorney Krasner argued today that the initiative was illegal in Pennsylvania, as the law requires any lottery to be operated by the state, while Trump’s lawyers revealed that it was not really a lottery with random prizes, as Musk seemed to indicate.
Musk’s attorney, Chris Gober, said “there is no prize to be won” as the lucky ones are “chosen based on their suitability to work as a spokesperson for America PAC,” so they are “winning” the money in a collaboration, according to local media present.
In fact, Gober claimed they already knew who was going to win $1 million today and tomorrow, and noted that these are registered voters in Arizona and Michigan, so Pennsylvania is not affected.
According to The Hill, America PAC has handed out 16 $1 million checks and four of them have gone to registered Pennsylvania voters.
The Justice Department also warned Musk that the initiative could violate federal law, as people cannot be paid to register to vote.
Musk has in recent weeks been involved body and soul in Trump’s presidential campaign, participating in multiple rallies and having donated more than $130 million (about 119.5 million euros) through his own campaign committee.
Trump, for his part, has said he will create a government position for Musk dedicated to drastically cutting government spending.