Elon Musk Hit With Lawsuit Over Potentially Illegal Cash Giveaway

The district attorney in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk over his $1 million daily cash giveaways to registered voters in swing states who sign his petition. The DA says that the “lottery” payments are actually a ploy to pay people, or at least entice them with the possibility of cash payments, to get them to register to vote, and they’ve asked a judge for an immediate injunction to stop it. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins explains what’s happening.

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*This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos.

The district attorney for the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has filed an emergency lawsuit against Elon Musk and his America Pac alleging in this lawsuit that this is an illegal scheme to pay people, or at least entice people to register to vote with the potential of paying them in the future. Now this lawsuit, of course, is in regards to Elon Musk's pledge from a week and a half ago to give out randomly $1 million per day from that point until election day to one lucky winner who signed his idiotic little petition. Now, in order to sign the petition, which simply says, I support freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. Uh, so he took parts of the first and second Amendment and the petition only says, I support these things. It's stupid, it's pointless. Like it literally serves no purpose other than of course to get people to register to vote because you have to be registered to vote to sign the petition.

And in the state of Pennsylvania, on top of the potential of the lottery winning a million dollars, you also get a hundred bucks for signing the petition. It is illegal under federal law. It's illegal under Pennsylvania law according to the lawsuit, to pay anyone or promise a potential for a payment in order to register to vote. So by enticing people to register to vote, to sign his petition to then be eligible for the million dollar a day lottery could easily be seen as a violation of that law. Which of course is why the DOJ sent a letter to Elon Musk last week warning him, this looks very illegal. You could spend five years in jail. Now, at the time it was reported that Elon Musk had put his program on pause 'cause they ended up not doing a drawing that day. And I think they didn't do one for a couple days, but I think it is back on now.

Elon Musk has told the DOJ basically, I'm gonna do what I wanna do because I can. So Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner says, nah bud. Here's what the lawsuit says. America Pac and Musk are lulling Philadelphia citizens and others in the Commonwealth and other swing states in the upcoming election to give up their personal identifying information and make a political pledge in exchange for the chance to win $1 million. That is a lottery and it is indisputably an unlawful lottery under unambiguous Pennsylvania law. All lotteries in Pennsylvania must be regulated by the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. So they're not necessarily getting him on the, you are paying people to register to vote. They're getting him on. You got a lottery, lottery's are regulated by the state. We're the only ones that can do 'em. Yeah, you're kind

Of in trouble. Elon Musk maintains quote, to be clear, this is not a petition to vote for or register for anyone. It's really a petition in order, uh, in support, excuse me, of the Constitution of the United States and in particular, freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. It's what he said last Friday. But again, what's the point of that? Why do you have to sign a piece of paper saying, I support the constitution? Shouldn't everybody support the Constitution? Why do you need people to sign your petition? Why are you giving what? Like why are you giving them money to do it? That's what doesn't make any sense. And the morons who sign this petition aren't thinking like taking a second to think, wait a minute. Why? Why am I even having to sign a paper saying I support this? Why is he willing to pay me a hundred bucks in Pennsylvania to sign it? Why could I win a million dollars from signing this? This doesn't seem to make sense. Not one person who signed this has had that thought. You are all genuinely that stupid.