By Canadian Press

Musk PAC tells Philadelphia judge the $1 million sweepstakes winners are not chosen by chance

Nov 4, 2024 | 1:24 PM

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A lawyer for Elon Musk ‘s political action committee told a judge in Philadelphia on Monday that so-called “winners” of his $1 million-a-day voter sweepstakes in swing states are not chosen by chance but are instead chosen to be paid “spokespeople” for the group.

GOP lawyer Chris Gober also said that the recipients Monday and Tuesday will come from Arizona and Michigan, respectively, and therefore will not affect the Pennsylvania election. He said the recipients are chosen based on their personal stories and sign a contract with the political organization, America PAC.

“The $1 million recipients are not chosen by chance,” Gober said Monday. “We know exactly who will be announced as the $1 million recipient today and tomorrow.”

What the lawyer told the judge directly contradicts what Musk promised when he announced the giveaways during an appearance with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump ‘s campaign in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 19: “We’re going to be awarding a million dollars randomly to people who have signed the petition every day from now until the election,” Musk vowed, to thunderous applause.

In testimony Monday afternoon, Krasner’s lawyer grilled a PAC official on the use of the words “chance” as well as “randomly.” Musk used both words to describe the giveaways.

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Chris Young, the PAC’s treasurer, agreed he was surprised that Musk announced the prizes would be awarded “randomly.”

“It’s not the word I would have selected,” he said.

He said he knew ahead of time who the recipients would be, and that the individuals at least knew they would be called on stage – but not specifically told they would win the money.

In an Oct. 20 social media post shown in court, Musk said anyone signing the petition had “a daily chance of winning $1M!”

Gober had argued Monday that the word “randomly” is not synonymous with “chance,” a statement Krasner called “absurd.”

Musk did not attend the hearing, held on the day before the presidential election. He has committed more than $70 million to the super PAC to help Trump and other Republicans win in November.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner took the witness stand Monday and called the sweepstakes a scam as he asked Common Pleas Court Judge Angelo Foglietta to shut it down.

“This was all a political marketing masquerading as a lottery,” Krasner testified. “That’s what it is. A grift.”

Lawyers for Musk and the PAC said they do not plan to extend the lottery beyond Tuesday. Krasner said the first three winners, starting on Oct. 19, came from Pennsylvania in the days leading up to the state’s Oct. 21 voter registration deadline.

Other winners came from the battleground states of Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Michigan. It’s not clear if anyone has yet received the money. The PAC pledged they would get it by Nov. 30, according to an exhibit shown in court.

More than 1 million people from the seven states have registered for the sweepstakes by signing a petition saying they support the right to free speech and to bear arms, the first two amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Krasner questioned how the PAC might use their data, which it will have on hand well past the election.

“They were scammed for their information,” Krasner said. “It has almost unlimited use.”

Krasner’s lawyer, John Summers, said Musk is “the heartbeat of America PAC,” and the person announcing the winners and presenting the checks.

“He was the one who presented the checks, albeit large cardboard checks. We don’t really know if there are any real checks,” Summers said.

Foglietta was presiding over the case at Philadelphia City Hall after Musk and the PAC lost an effort to move it to federal court.

Krasner has said he could still consider criminal charges, as he’s tasked with protecting both lotteries and the integrity of elections. In the lawsuit, he said the defendants are “indisputably violating” Pennsylvania’s lottery laws.

Pennsylvania remains a key battleground state with 19 electoral votes and both Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris have repeatedly visited the state, including stops planned Monday in the final hours of the campaign.

Krasner — who noted that he has long driven a Tesla — said he could also seek civil damages for the Pennsylvania registrants. Musk owns Tesla along with the social media platform X, where America PAC has published posts on the sweepstakes, and the rocket ship maker SpaceX.

Maryclaire Dale, The Associated Press