Elon Musk defends $1 million donation after Justice Department warning

Tech billionaire Elon Musk defended the legality of the super PAC’s $1 million daily donation to registered voters in swing states, days after the Justice Department sent a letter warning that the lottery-style contest could be illegal.

Musk, during a online event at the town hall On Friday, he said on his social media app X that the purpose of the contest was not to get people to register to vote. This is a distinction which legal experts said it’s important because it’s illegal under federal law to pay people to register to vote.

“To be clear, this is not a petition to vote or register for anyone. It’s really a petition in support of the Constitution of the United States and in particular the freedom of speech and the right to bear arms,” he said.

Musk’s America PAC offered $1 million per day Saturday to a registered voter in one of the seven battleground states that signed on an online petition commitment to support the First and Second Amendments. The PAC is also giving $100 to registered Pennsylvania voters who sign the petition. When Musk debuted the gifts, he was leading a series of town halls where he repeatedly emphasized the importance of voter registration and his support for former President Donald Trump.

Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is the richest person in the world, according to him Bloomberg Billionaires Indexand he used his wealth and notoriety to support Trump’s bid to return to the White House. Musk gave nearly $75 million to super PACs while personally campaigning in Pennsylvania for Trump, and he used his platform on X to do the same.

He said at one point Friday that he was trying to be “anti-Soros,” a reference to financier George Soros’ support for progressive causes. Taking questions on a variety of topics, he called for cutting government programs and reducing immigration, and on crime, he asserted without evidence that “there is almost no downtown in America that is actually safe to walk into.” (Crime is spreading throughout the nation and is close to historical lows.)

Musk’s $1 million daily drawing is open to registered voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Legal experts told NBC News that Musk’s contest falls into a gray area of ​​election law, and on Wednesday, NBC News confirmed that the Justice Department sent a letter to Musk’s super PAC warning that the $1 million donation may violate federal law.

Musk did not mention the DOJ letter during Friday’s event. The topic came up when someone named “Dennis” asked if the offer was real.

“It came up in a few places where I don’t know if it’s you or AI,” the person said. “Is there any truth to this?”

Musk said it was true and that it was a bad idea to sign the petition.

Musk took a tougher tone toward the Justice Department on two other topics during the online town hall. He attacked the impeachment of Trumpsaying they were for “political reasons” and criticized the Justice Department for intervening in a lawsuit in Virginia related to immigration and the voter lists of that state.

“DOJ’s priorities seem — they seem wrong,” he said.