‘There is no prize to be won’: Elon Musk’s election lottery confirmed as a major scam
Elon Musk’s $1 million daily voter giveaway has been exposed as deceptive after his own legal team admitted in a Philadelphia court that winners were preselected rather than chosen randomly as originally claimed.
“The $1 million recipients are not chosen by chance,” Musk’s attorney, Chris Gober, told Judge Angelo Foglietta on Monday, admitting “there is no prize to be won.” “We know exactly who will be announced as the $1 million recipient today and tomorrow.”
This admission directly contradicts Musk’s October 19 public announcement that winners would be selected “randomly” from registered voters in seven battleground states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments.
Chris Young, director of Musk’s America PAC, testified that the organization vetted potential recipients to “feel out their personality, (and) make sure they were someone whose values aligned” with the group. Young also confirmed winners had to sign non-disclosure agreements before receiving their checks.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, who brought the lawsuit challenging the giveaway’s legality, called out the scheme during testimony. “This was all a political marketing masquerading as a lottery,” Krasner said. “That’s what it is. A grift.”
The revelation comes after more than one million voters from Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin registered for what they believed was a random drawing. While America PAC has pledged to distribute the promised funds by November 30, perhaps more pertinent questions remain about how the organization will use the personal data collected from registrants. Musk clearly wanted to focus on his/Trump’s most fervent (or loyal) voters, which could be dangerous in its own right. Whatever the case, their data likely would be much more valuable than the few million dollars paid out over the course of the fake lottery.
Despite the admissions about the preselected nature of winners, Judge Foglietta denied Krasner’s request to halt the promotion. The ruling allows Musk’s America PAC to continue its final planned giveaways through Election Day. Interestingly enough, Foglietta also made the ruling with no immediate reasoning, saying a written statement would be forthcoming.
The controversy highlights how the contest’s execution differed dramatically from its public marketing—including Musk’s quite literal wording in hyping up the fake contest. While presented as an open opportunity for any registered voter in the seven states who signed the petition, court testimony revealed a carefully orchestrated selection process hidden behind non-disclosure agreements, which was likely in the triple-small, Willy Wonka fine print.
In a final strange detail that raises questions about the transparency of the entire operation, Young curiously testified that while winners knew they would be called on stage at events, they weren’t explicitly told they would receive the money. It begs the question: Why else would “random” people be on stage?
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