Elon Musk's super PAC gives $1 million in prizes to two registered voters despite Justice Department warning

CNN
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Elon Musk's super PAC gave out two $1 million prizes to registered voters in Michigan and Wisconsin on Thursday after the Justice Department warned that the payments could be illegal.

These are the first giveaways from the super PAC backing Donald Trump, following news Wednesday that the Justice Department had sent a letter to the group warning that its “daily” sweepstakes may violate federal election laws that the Ban payment for voter registrations.

Musk, the CEO of Tesla and the world's richest man, launched the competition on Saturday and his super PAC had chosen a winner every day – until Wednesday. No winner was announced at the time, but two winners were announced Thursday on X, the social media platform Musk owns.

The group has made no public explanation for the apparent one-day pause and a spokesman for the super PAC declined to comment. It's not clear when Musk received the Justice Department's letter.

Bipartisan election law experts immediately raised concerns about the sweepstakes after Musk first introduced it on Saturday during a pro-Trump campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

To win the $1 million prize, people must sign a petition affirming their support for the rights to free speech and bear arms. However, fine print on the super PAC's website says only registered voters in seven battleground states are eligible to sign the petition — which experts say is at the heart of the possible illegality.

These controversial requirements had not been changed as of Thursday evening and can still be found on the super PAC's website.

Federal law makes it a felony for anyone who “pays, offers to pay, or accepts payment either to register to vote or to vote.”

Legal experts previously told CNN that they believe the main problem with Musk's giveaway is making voter registration a requirement to enter the sweepstakes. The problem could be solved if the sweepstakes were offered to every American, regardless of registration status.

Responding to a post that said Musk was “paying for Republican registration,” the tech magnate said winners “can be of one political party or no political party and you don't even have to vote.” He also criticized Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat and former attorney general, for questioning the legality of the sweepstakes.

Federal records show that Musk donated nearly $119 million – including about $44 million in October – to America PAC, the super PAC he co-founded to re-elect Trump. He said he hopes the sweepstakes will increase registration among Trump voters. He recently hit the campaign trail in Pennsylvania, holding events advocating for Trump, promoting his petition and spreading conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.

America PAC also received around $3 million in October from members of the influential DeVos family, including $250,000 from former Trump administration Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who resigned following the January 6, 2021 insurrection.

These additional donations in October have allowed Musk's group to continue spending tens of millions of dollars on canvassing and field operations in key battleground states, helping the Trump campaign keep pace with Kamala Harris' record-breaking fundraising and massive campaign spending.

CNN's David Wright contributed to this report.