SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s million-dollar voter giveaway survived a legal challenge from Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner on Monday, just one day before the presidential election.
A Pennsylvania judge declined to halt the initiative after Krasner argued it constituted an illegal lottery under state law.
The judge’s decision followed a hearing in which Musk’s lawyer, Chris Gober, clarified that the contest winners were not chosen at random, which would be characteristic of a lottery, but instead were selected as spokespersons for Musk’s America PAC.
“The $1 million recipients are not chosen by chance,” Gober argued, according to the Associated Press. “We know exactly who will be announced as the $1 million recipient today and tomorrow.”
Christ Young, director of America PAC, testified that potential recipients are carefully vetted to ensure their values align with the group. “We feel out their personality, (and) make sure they were someone whose values aligned with ours,” Young explained.
In their closing arguments, Musk’s legal team defended the giveaway as “core political speech,” emphasizing that each participant must sign a petition endorsing the U.S. Constitution to qualify.
They argued that Krasner’s attempts to block the program were unfounded since no additional Pennsylvania recipients would be selected before the contest concludes on Tuesday.
Krasner argued that the program violates state election laws and pointed to Musk’s earlier statements made at a rally with Republican nominee Donald Trump in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
During that Oct. 19 event, Musk announced, “We’re going to be awarding a million dollars randomly to people who have signed the petition every day from now until the election.”
The ruling means that the final winners of the initiative can be announced as planned, as Musk and his team maintained that the program is compliant with legal requirements, aligning participants with the values of America PAC while encouraging civic engagement.