Elon Musk has been ordered to attend a Friday (NZT) hearing in a prosecutor’s lawsuit to block the billionaire’s US$1 million-a-day (NZ$1.68m) giveaway to registered swing state voters ahead of the U.S. election on 5 November.
The hearing before Judge Angelo Foglietta concerns Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s bid to halt the giveaway less than a week before the tightly contested U.S. presidential election between Republican former president Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
Krasner, who championed progressive causes when running for district attorney, accuses Tesla chief executive Musk, a Trump supporter, and his political action committee America PAC of hatching an “illegal lottery scheme to influence voters”.
Musk promised to give $1 million a day to randomly selected people who signed a petition pledging support for free speech and gun rights. Signatories were required to be registered voters in one of seven states that will likely decide the outcome of the 5 November election – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Musk gave away the first $1 million to an attendee of a 19 October rally hosted by America PAC in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Krasner’s 28 October lawsuit alleges the giveaway amounts to an illegal lottery unsanctioned by the state, which has sole authority to run and regulate them.
The suit also says it violates consumer protection laws by “deploying deceptive, vague or misleading statements” about its rules.