đź•’ Last updated on August 21, 2025
Judge allows case to move forward
Federal judge has ruled that Elon Musk must face a lawsuit accusing him of tricking voters with a massive cash giveaway during the 2024 election campaign.
The case was brought by a voter who said she was misled into believing that she had a fair chance to win $1 million a day if she signed a petition promoted by Musk and his political action committee, known as America PAC.
The judge said the complaint showed enough detail to suggest that Musk and his group may have made false promises about the giveaway. He explained that the wording used in Musk’s promotion made it sound like a lottery, even if the organizers later tried to frame it differently.
The lawsuit was filed on Election Day in November 2024. It targets Musk and America PAC, which was created to support Donald Trump’s presidential run. The judge decided that the case was strong enough to move forward, rejecting Musk’s attempt to have it dismissed.
Claims of a misleading giveaway
The voter who filed the lawsuit said that Musk and his group encouraged people in seven battleground states to sign his petition. By signing, they believed they were entering a lottery where random winners would receive $1 million each day.
But the complaint says that this chance was never real. Instead, people were allegedly asked to hand over personal details like names, addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers, which could later be used for political purposes.
According to the lawsuit, the campaign was presented as if it were a fair contest. Statements in Musk’s promotions included words like “awarded” and “won,” which created the impression of a true lottery. The judge noted that these terms could have reasonably led people to think they had a chance to win, even if that was not the actual intent.
Musk’s lawyers argued that the campaign was not a lottery. They said the people who were promised money were not winners of a game of chance but were instead “selected to earn” the payment by serving as spokespeople for the group. This, they claimed, meant that the money was not really a prize but rather compensation for political activity.
The judge disagreed that this cleared Musk of responsibility. He said that the way the giveaway was promoted could still make ordinary people think they were entering a lottery.
Value of voter data questioned
The case also highlights concerns about the value of voter data collected during the campaign. Musk argued that people who signed the petition suffered no harm by giving their personal details.
But the judge pointed out that the information may have had real value, especially in key battleground states where voter data is heavily used by political groups. An expert in political data brokerage could testify about what that data was worth, making it a valid part of the case.
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Just a day before the lawsuit was filed, a judge in Philadelphia declined to shut down Musk’s giveaway. The judge ruled that the city’s top prosecutor had not presented sufficient evidence to establish the lottery’s illegality.
In Texas, however, the case is moving forward. The judge ruled that the claims are serious enough to be heard in court.
Musk, who lives in Texas, is the head of Tesla, which is based in Austin. His political action committee, America PAC, played a visible role in supporting the 2024 election campaign.
The lawsuit now proceeds under the name McAferty v. Musk et al. in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.