Elon Musk defends $1 million petition donation after federal warning

Tech billionaire Elon Musk defended the legality of his super PAC's $1 million daily donation to registered voters in swing states, days after the Justice Department sent a letter warning that the lottery-like contest may be unlawful be.

During an online town hall event Friday on his social media app, that distinction is important, legal experts say, because paying people to register as voters is illegal under federal law.

“To be clear, this is not a petition to vote or register for anyone. It is truly a petition in support of the Constitution of the United States and specifically freedom of speech and the right to bear arms,” he said.

Musk's America PAC has been giving away $1 million a day since Saturday to a registered voter in one of seven battleground states who signed an online petition pledging support for the First and Second Amendments. The PAC is also offering $100 to registered voters in Pennsylvania who sign the petition. When Musk first hosted the giveaways, he held a series of town hall meetings where he repeatedly emphasized the importance of voter registration and his support for former President Donald Trump.

Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is the richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and he is using his wealth and notoriety to help Trump's bid to return to the White House. Musk donated nearly $75 million to the super PAC while personally campaigning for Trump in Pennsylvania and using his platform on X to do the same.

He said at one point Friday that he was trying to be the “anti-Soros,” a reference to financier George Soros' support for progressive causes. He answered questions on a variety of topics and called for cutting government programs and reducing immigration. On the subject of crime, he claimed without evidence that “there is hardly any inner city in America that is truly safe to walk in.” (Crime is declining nationwide and near historic lows.)

Musk's $1 million daily drawing is open to registered voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Legal experts have told NBC News that Musk's campaign falls into a gray area of ​​election law, and on Wednesday NBC News confirmed that the Justice Department had sent a letter to Musk's super PAC warning that the $1 million raffle could violate federal law.

Musk did not mention the DOJ letter during Friday's event. The topic came up when someone named “Dennis” asked if the giveaway was real.

“It's popped up in a few places where I don't know if it's real you or an AI,” the person said. “Is that true?”

Musk said that was true and that it was a “no-brainer” to sign the petition.

Musk took a tougher tone toward the Justice Department on two other issues during the online town hall. He attacked the criminal prosecutions of Trump, saying they were for “political reasons,” and he criticized the Justice Department for interfering in a legal battle in Virginia related to immigration and that state's voter rolls.

“The DOJ’s priorities seem — they seem wrong,” he said.