Billionaire and Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has distributed $1 million checks to Wisconsin voters after the state supreme court declined to intervene in a legal challenge to the giveaway.
What Happened: At a Sunday rally, Musk handed out two $1 million checks to voters who had signed a petition opposing “activist” judges, declaring “we just want judges to be judges.” This occurred ahead of Tuesday’s hotly contested Wisconsin Supreme Court election.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, had sued to block the distribution, arguing it violated state laws prohibiting gifts in exchange for votes, according to the BBC. Musk’s legal team countered that Kaul was “restraining Mr. Musk’s political speech and curtailing his First Amendment rights.”
The Wisconsin race has become the most expensive judicial election in American history and a critical political flashpoint.
Why It Matters: This continues Musk’s pattern of controversial voter incentives. In October, he announced a program offering $1 million daily to registered voters in battleground states, including Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Georgia, who signed his America PAC petition supporting First and Second Amendment rights.
Election law experts raised serious concerns about these initiatives. Richard Hasen, director of UCLA’s Safeguarding Democracy Project, told The Associated Press, “The only people eligible to participate in this giveaway are the people who are registered to vote. And that makes it illegal.”
Musk, a prominent supporter of President Donald Trump, has reportedly invested millions in the 2024 election cycle, with his voter incentive programs particularly targeting swing states critical to the presidential race.
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