Lawsuit Accuses Musk of Bribing Wisconsin Voters with Cash Prizes

The Washington Post

17:29 JST, June 12, 2025

A Wisconsin nonprofit organization focused on fighting for fair elections has filed a legal complaint alleging that billionaire Elon Musk illegally bribed voters by giving out cash prizes this year in his attempt to help conservatives take control of the swing state’s Supreme Court.

The complaint, provided to The Washington Post by lawyers representing the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and two Wisconsin voters, claims that Musk, his America PAC and a Musk-linked entity known as United States of America Inc. violated the state’s election law in “a brazen scheme to bribe Wisconsin citizens to vote.”

The complaint stems from actions of the Tesla and SpaceX CEO ahead of the Wisconsin Supreme Court election this spring, when he handed out two $1 million checks to Wisconsin voters and when his super PAC, America PAC, paid registered voters $100 each for signing petitions and providing their contact information.

State law, the complaint notes, bars offering or giving “any amount of money over $1” to induce anyone to go to the polls, vote or vote for a particular person. The complaint, which was filed Tuesday, also claims the actions violated the state’s prohibition on unauthorized lotteries.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare that the conduct broke state law and to bar Musk and the defendants from replicating such conduct in future Wisconsin elections. They are also asking the court to award damages “to the extent supported by law.”

Days before an event in Wisconsin where Musk handed out the $1 million checks, the state’s attorney general, Josh Kaul, sued Musk and America PAC, arguing that the billionaire was violating a law that bars offering voters something of value in exchange for casting ballots.

After a county judge declined to immediately hold a hearing and an appeals court rebuffed his request, Kaul asked the state’s high court to issue a temporary restraining order barring Musk and America PAC from further promoting Musk’s visit to Wisconsin and making payments conditioned on voting. The justices on the court declined to take the case and did not explain their rationale.

When Kaul’s lawsuit was filed, Musk and his team portrayed the payments as rewards for signing petitions and serving as spokespeople – and not as compensation for votes. At the time, Musk was an adviser to President Donald Trump and oversaw the U.S. DOGE Service, a federal cost-cutting agency.

America PAC declined to comment Wednesday on the new complaint.

Musk initially said that the giveaway event and prize money would be open only to those who had voted early “in appreciation for you taking the time to vote.” After legal scholars questioned the plan, Musk deleted an initial post about the event and then said it would be open to Wisconsin registered voters who signed a petition opposing activist judges.

Jeff Mandell, president and general counsel for Law Forward – a public-interest law firm representing the plaintiffs in the latest complaint, said that one of Kaul’s biggest challenges was the short timeline of his request.

“We’re trying to create … accountability in a more regular timeline, in a way that gives the courts the opportunity to look at this more carefully and in a more traditional procedure for them, and we fully expect that the courts are going to do so,” Mandell said.

The plaintiffs in the latest complaint are “also in a different position substantively, because we know exactly what happened and how it unfolded, and we’re asking the court to say this is not acceptable,” Mandell added.

Musk similarly deployed high-value giveaways in swing states during the 2024 election, saying he would hand out $1 million daily in a lottery for registered voters who signed a petition as part of his super PAC’s recruitment drive. The program also sought to give $47 cash incentives for valid referrals to registered voters in swing states. Despite legal efforts to stop Musk’s tactics during the 2024 presidential campaign, a Pennsylvania judge said that prosecutors failed to show it was an illegal lottery, and he allowed the giveaways to continue through Election Day.

Tuesday’s complaint aims to prevent Musk and his groups from taking similar actions in Wisconsin in future elections. In recent months, Musk has sent mixed signals as to whether he plans to stay involved in U.S. elections. Trump carried Wisconsin in 2024, but Musk’s preferred candidate lost the state Supreme Court race.

In late May, weeks before his exit from the administration as a special government employee, Musk indicated that he planned to do “a lot less” political spending going forward after having spent massively for Trump’s campaign. But he said that could change if he saw “a reason to do political spending in the future.”

Musk then left his role overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency last month with the fanfare of a personal send-off by Trump and the presentation of a ceremonial key to the Oval Office. However, in the short time since his departure, Musk’s relationship with Trump and many Republicans in Congress has soured, with the tech scion suggesting at times that he may seek political revenge against lawmakers who support the president’s massive legislative priorities bill.

Last week, for example, Musk wrote on X that “a new political party is needed in America to represent the 80% in the middle!” He also threatened to “fire all politicians who betrayed the American people” by supporting the bill.