Elon Musk has been a vocal supporter of Donald Trump in the run-up to the election. He created America PAC with the backing of some prominent tech businessmen. Its main purpose was to fund canvassing and it spent an estimated $200 million to help elect Trump. Now Larry Krasner, Philadelphia District Attorney, has brought a lawsuit against Elon Musk, accusing him of running an illegal lottery.
A controversial promotion
Musk and America PAC announced that they would give away $1 million every day to voters in swing states, provided that these voters submitted personal identifying information and signed a petition pledging support for freedom of speech and the right to bear arms.
Krasner claims this was lulling Philadelphia citizens and others in swing states. They gave up personal information and made a political pledge in exchange for the chance to win $1 million. He says this was clearly an illegal lottery as it wasn’t operating within state regulations. Krasner opened a court case against Musk.
PA online gambling is strictly regulated, and online casinos must abide by the rules of the Pennsylvania Gambling Control Board (PGCB). Pennsylvania has its own legally licensed lottery. Lottery games usually give rules, state the odds of winning, and tell customers what to do if they win. Musk and the American PAC didn’t publish any rules or show how they would protect the privacy of the personal information of participants.
The case is headed to the federal court
Krasner’s legal team said that winner selection didn’t appear to be random as multiple winners showed up at Trump rallies in Pennsylvania.
Musk was scheduled to appear in court but the hearing never took place. His lawyers filed a motion to remove the case from the schedule. Now, the case is headed to federal court.
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Gambling is the focus in the run-up to the election
Betting on the election was another controversial issue. Various apps allowed users to speculate on the election results. This type of betting is newly legal, and millions of dollars flooded the market. Crypto-based betting platform Polymarket hosted over $2 billion in bets. This was likely from foreign traders as it is technically banned for U.S. users. Elon Musk has posted about Polymarket odds on X.
Musk’s influence
This election wasn’t an ordinary one, with Trump being shot at and Biden stepping down. Trump fans believe that with Trump’s victory, America’s best days are yet to come. Musk’s influence on the election results is a topic of debate. Trump’s win was a decisive one, and Musk did manage to motivate valuable sectors of the population. He runs and owns X and has over 200 million followers. Some people felt that the support of Musk added more legitimacy to Trump’s campaign.
Musk ended up donating at least $118 million in the Get Out to Vote operation that was subcontracted to him. This sum is quite inconsequential to someone who is worth about $250 billion on paper. The million-a-day stunt got a lot of attention. Musk showing up at the Butler Rally was a big symbolic gesture as it was where the first assassination attempt on Trump occurred.
Musk watched the election results come in with Trump. It will be interesting to see how much influence Musk has on the White House in the future. This could be particularly significant when it comes to defense and national security.