Elon Musk offered $100 to Pennsylvania voters to support Trump
US ELECTION: In exchange for signing a pro-Donald Trump petition, Pennsylvania registered voters may get $100 from Elon Musk.
“You and the person who recommended you, if you are a registered voter in Pennsylvania, will now get $100 for signing our petition in favor of the freedom to carry weapons and free expression. Get paid for endorsing a cause you already care about,” the CEO of SpaceX sent a message to his more than 200 million followers on X, the old Twitter platform.
Musk established America PAC, a political action group, in order to back Trump’s bid for president.
“The First and Second Amendments guarantee freedom of speech and the right to bear arms,” the petition states. I affirm my support for the First and Second Amendments by signing below.
It gives an additional $47 to each who recommends the petition to another registered voter. There does not seem to be a limit on the total number of registered voters that may be recommended, even if payments of $600 or more need a signed IRS form.
Only registered voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina are permitted to sign and get $100 before the offer ends on October 21 (the deadline for voter registration). The petition’s stated purpose is to register one million voters across swing states.
People who “are interested in working on increasing voter registration and turnout” may apply on the America PAC webpage, where they can labor for $30 per hour and get “bonuses for performance.”
Although paying someone to vote or receiving money for voter registration or voting is prohibited by federal law, paying someone to sign a petition or persuade someone else to sign a petition is legal.
“The fact that they are only paying the referrer rather than the signatory further insulates the PAC from any accusations that they are buying votes,” campaign finance attorney Brendan Fischer told The New York Times. He also added that America PAC is spending money to collect voter data, which is a common practice for both standard PACs and campaigns.
Shortly after holding an America Pac town hall in Pennsylvania that was shown live on X and garnered 8.5 million views, Musk shared the petition’s information on social media.
The CEO of Tesla said during the show, “I can’t emphasize enough that Pennsylvania is, I think, the linchpin in this election, and this election, I think, is going to decide the fate of America, and along with the fate of America, the fate of Western civilization.”
Before opening up the floor for questions and answers, Musk discussed a number of topics, including crime (“We don’t want to be in the Mad Max movie”), the border wall (“The border looks like World War Z, okay, it’s like zombie apocalypse”), and government spending (“The federal government is spending America into bankruptcy”).
A participant asked, “What do we do now to make sure we get Donald Trump across the finish line in Pennsylvania and everywhere else in this country?”
Musk retorted, saying, “Basically, for the next three days, everyone needs to concentrate on registering friends, family, acquaintances, and everyone you know, because the vote won’t count if you’re not registered by Monday evening—which is why I’m stressing this so much—or if you’re registered incorrectly. They will not have voting rights. Three days are left.”
“This election could be decided by a handful of people; it could just be that a little bit of extra effort on voter registration decides the entire future of civilization,” Musk said.
Not every one of Musk’s X supporters was convinced. “I am sitting on my ballot, struggling to decide my vote. I believe Elon is incredibly intelligent, wise, and brutally honest,” said one follower, @SpringTesla. I may not have had any issues voting for Trump if it weren’t for January 6. Elon is defensible to get my vote, but I wish there was a line to cast it.”
