Elon Musk offers $1M a day to attract swing state voters | Wilnesh News

Elon Musk said on Saturday he would randomly award $1 million a day to registered voters who signed a petition supporting Trump’s political action committee in an effort to get his fans in swing states to the polls.

“I have a surprise for you,” Musk said during a speech at an American Political Action Committee event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, adding that “bonuses will be available every day between now and the election.”

Musk then called a man named John Dreher, who he said was one of the signers of the petition, and handed him a huge check.

“I think it’s fun to think about and, you know, it seems like basically a good way to use money,” the person said. Tesla CEO, worth nearly $250 billion.

Musk, who is also CEO of defense contractor SpaceX and owner of social media platform X, began a speaking tour in Pennsylvania to promote voter registration in support of Republican candidates. He called the state “key” to the election.

“I think progress in Pennsylvania is progress in the election,” Musk said.

The deadline to sign the petition is Monday night, the Pennsylvania voter registration deadline. The petition, posted on the PAC website, said signers “must be registered voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania or Wisconsin” to be eligible for payments.

Rick Hasen, UCLA law professor and NBC News election law analyst in a blog post Musk’s move appears to violate federal electoral lawin particular “a person who pays or offers to pay or receives payment for the purpose of registering to vote” or to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years, or both, for voting.

“There are certain things in this country that are for sale, and there are certain things that we decided shouldn’t be for sale,” Hasson told CNBC. “Congress has decided that you shouldn’t be able to sell your vote to the highest bidder, We should not allow the richest people to distort the political process and try to get you to vote a certain way.”

CNBC reached out to Musk and one of his advisers for comment, but they did not respond.

In an interview with NBC ““Meet the Press” On Sunday, Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro said Musk’s plan to provide money to registered voters in the state was “deeply concerning” and “something that law enforcement could consider.”

At Trump event, Musk push exposed voter fraud conspiracies, called for deregulation and repeatedly described President Trump Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris (Trump’s rivals) as replaceable “puppets.”

“You know, no one wants to try to kill Kamala because there’s no point,” Musk said on Saturday, repeating a phrase he has used in the past to draw attention. secret service. “I’m not suggesting that someone tried to kill her, that would make no sense, but I’m just saying. I’m just making an observation.”

During his appearance, Musk said he believed many government agencies and regulations in the United States were ineffective and unnecessary. Trump accepted Musk’s idea of ​​establishing a government efficiency commission and said the tech giant would be an important part of it.

“We really shouldn’t trust the government. We just shouldn’t,” Musk said in Harrisburg. “Even if I’m in the government, don’t trust the government.”

While Musk’s company has long relied on government spending and support, he has blamed the Federal Communications Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service for hindering SpaceX’s development.

“We’ve had crazy things happen,” Musk said, “like SpaceX being fined $140,000 for dumping drinking water on the ground at Starbase.”

As CNBC previously reported, SpaceX has repeatedly discharged high-temperature industrial wastewater into the wetlands surrounding the company’s launch pad in Boca Chica, Texas, which the EPA believes violates the Clean Water Act.

Musk mocked NOAA Fisheries for asking SpaceX to conduct a study to predict how its rockets would affect sharks and whales if they fell into the ocean.

“I think, it’s a big ocean, you know, there’s a lot of sharks. It’s not impossible, but it’s very unlikely,” Musk said. this Institutional mission It is “protecting America’s coastal and marine resources.”

Musk’s hostility toward President Joe Biden intensified in 2021, when the White House declined to invite Tesla to an electric vehicle summit.

“You know, Tesla has about 140,000 employees and just like a lot of blood, sweat and tears that people put into making great electric cars,” Musk said Saturday. “To be treated like this for no reason. It’s like, what’s going on?”

Musk has long struggled with unions, and Tesla was accused of union-busting ahead of the EV summit. Biden has maintained a pro-labor platform throughout his presidency.

One attendee in Harrisburg asked Musk if he thought self-driving cars should eventually become mandatory if they can navigate traffic more safely than human drivers. Tesla has promised customers a “robo-taxi” for years but never produced one.

Musk said he opposes anything federally mandated.

“We should let the government off the hook and let the market take care of it,” he said. “I’m anti-government in general. So I want to thank all of you for coming. It’s been an honor to talk to you.”

Musk mentioned Trump only sparingly throughout the evening, without discussing his policies or record as president in detail.

watch: Elon Musk donates $75 million to pro-Trump PAC