Elon Musk’s super PAC awards $1 million prizes to 2 registered voters, despite DOJ warning

By Marshall Cohen, CNN

(CNN) — Elon Musk’s super PAC awarded two $1 million prizes to registered voters in Michigan and Wisconsin on Thursday, after being warned by the Justice Department that the payments might be illegal.

These are the first giveaways by the pro-Donald Trump super PAC after news broke Wednesday that the Justice Department had sent a letter to the group, warning that its “daily” sweepstakes might violate federal election laws against paying for voter registrations.

Musk, the CEO of Tesla and the richest man in the world, launched the sweepstakes on Saturday and his super PAC had named a winner each day – until Wednesday. No winner was announced then, but two winners were announced Thursday on X, the social media platform that Musk owns.

The group has not provided any public explanation for the apparent one-day pause, and a spokesperson for the super PAC declined to comment on Thursday. It’s not clear when Musk received the Justice Department’s letter.

A source familiar with the PAC’s efforts said Friday that “the program never stopped.”

Asked about the lack of an announced winner for Wednesday, the source suggested that it was caused by logistical challenges and not due to the Justice Department’s  warning. The super PAC has been referring to the daily winners as “spokespeople” and has framed the $1 million prize money as a salary for their public pro-Trump messaging.

“The spokespeople the PAC selects are real people with real lives and sometimes they are busy. They aren’t going to penalize anyone for not being home when they try to deliver a check,” the person familiar with the super PAC’s efforts said.

Nonpartisan election law experts immediately raised concerns about the sweepstakes after Musk’s initial rollout on Saturday during a pro-Trump campaign event in Pennsylvania.

To win the $1 million prize, people must sign a petition affirming their support for the rights to free speech and bear arms. However, the fine print on the super PAC’s website specifies that only registered voters in seven battleground states are eligible to sign the petition – which experts said is the crux of the potential illegality.

Those controversial requirements have not been changed as of Thursday night and are still on the super PAC’s website.

Federal law makes it a crime for anyone who “pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for registration to vote or for voting.”

Legal experts previously told CNN that they believe the main problem with Musk’s giveaway was making voter registration a prerequisite to entering the sweepstakes. The problem could be solved if the sweepstakes was offered to any American, regardless of registration status.

In response to a post claiming Musk was “paying to register Republicans,” the tech magnate said winners “can be from any or no political party and you don’t even have to vote.” He has also criticized Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat and former state attorney general, for questioning the legality of the sweepstakes.

Federal filings show Musk has given nearly $119 million – including about $44 million in October – to America PAC, the super PAC he helped form to reelect Trump. He has said he hopes the sweepstakes will boost registration among Trump voters. He recently hit the campaign trail in Pennsylvania, holding events advocating on Trump’s behalf, promoting his petition and spreading conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.

America PAC also received about $3 million in October from members of the influential DeVos family, including $250,000 from former Trump administration Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who quit in the wake of the January 6, 2021, insurrection.

These additional donations in October have enabled Musk’s group to continue spending tens of millions of dollars on canvassing and field operations in key battleground states, helping the Trump campaign keep pace with Kamala Harris’ record-breaking fundraising and massive campaign spending.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

CNN’s David Wright contributed to this report.

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