Elon Musk Gets a Seriously Lucky Break on His Dumb $1 Million Lottery
Elon Musk has managed to delay a legal case against his $1 million daily lottery giveaway to registered voters thanks to a Pennsylvania state judge. At a hearing in the Keystone State on Thursday, Judge Angelo Foglietta said that a lawsuit from Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner looking to stop the giveaway will be placed on hold until a federal court decides whether to hear the case. Musk’s legal team is arguing that the lawsuit raises questions about free speech and election interference more suited to federal law. Musk was initially required to appear in court in Pennsylvania on Thursday but didn’t show up. Foglietta’s ruling not only overrules that requirement, but it allows the tech mogul’s America PAC to continue its giveaway to registered voters in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin who sign a pledge supporting First and Second Amendment constitutional rights.On his X platform Thursday, the tech mogul celebrated the ruling in a post reading “American Justice FTW,” as the ruling also pushes the lawsuit’s proceedings until after Election Day. Krasner was seeking to halt Musk’s scheme, calling it an “illegal lottery scheme to influence voters.” In the lawsuit, Krasner argues that under Pennsylvania law, only the state can run a lottery for the benefit of the state’s seniors. Krasner also alleges that neither Musk nor the PAC has published clear rules for the giveaway or explained how they are protecting entrants’ personal information. The lawsuit questions whether the million-dollar winners are actually random, considering that two of them had attended Trump rallies. Last week, after the Justice Department sent a warning letter to the PAC over concerns that the lottery violated federal laws against paying people to register to vote, it seemed as though the giveaway might stop. But after an apparent pause for one day, the PAC named two more winners, daring the government to take action. With Thursday’s court ruling, the Trump-supporting Musk appears to have gotten away with pushing the limits of election interference.
Elon Musk has managed to delay a legal case against his $1 million daily lottery giveaway to registered voters thanks to a Pennsylvania state judge.
At a hearing in the Keystone State on Thursday, Judge Angelo Foglietta said that a lawsuit from Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner looking to stop the giveaway will be placed on hold until a federal court decides whether to hear the case. Musk’s legal team is arguing that the lawsuit raises questions about free speech and election interference more suited to federal law.
Musk was initially required to appear in court in Pennsylvania on Thursday but didn’t show up. Foglietta’s ruling not only overrules that requirement, but it allows the tech mogul’s America PAC to continue its giveaway to registered voters in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin who sign a pledge supporting First and Second Amendment constitutional rights.
On his X platform Thursday, the tech mogul celebrated the ruling in a post reading “American Justice FTW,” as the ruling also pushes the lawsuit’s proceedings until after Election Day. Krasner was seeking to halt Musk’s scheme, calling it an “illegal lottery scheme to influence voters.”
In the lawsuit, Krasner argues that under Pennsylvania law, only the state can run a lottery for the benefit of the state’s seniors. Krasner also alleges that neither Musk nor the PAC has published clear rules for the giveaway or explained how they are protecting entrants’ personal information. The lawsuit questions whether the million-dollar winners are actually random, considering that two of them had attended Trump rallies.
Last week, after the Justice Department sent a warning letter to the PAC over concerns that the lottery violated federal laws against paying people to register to vote, it seemed as though the giveaway might stop. But after an apparent pause for one day, the PAC named two more winners, daring the government to take action. With Thursday’s court ruling, the Trump-supporting Musk appears to have gotten away with pushing the limits of election interference.
