Elon Musk’s PAC halts $1M daily giveaway after DOJ warning

After receiving a warning letter from the U.S. Department of Justice, Elon Musk’s super PAC didn’t announce a $1 million daily winner Wednesday for signing its petition.

The letter to America PAC warned that its giveaway in battleground states to swing voters could be illegal, CNN reported, by violating federal law against offering incentives such as cash or prizes to induce voter registration.

Musk, the founder of Tesla and Space X, who’s gone all-in on Republican Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy, has already committed at least $70 million to help the former president. He recently pledged to give away $1 million per day to voters for signing a petition supporting the First and Second amendments.

The giveaways began Saturday, and there have been two Western Pennsylvania winners so far. Petition signers are selected from Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin or North Carolina, according to the petition’s website.

Shannon Tomei of McKees Rocks was gifted a giant check in person as Monday’s winner, according to America PAC on the social media platform X. She declined to comment on Tuesday.

Federal law bars paying people to register to vote, according to CNN. The language of the petition currently promises $1 million prizes to people chosen at random for signing the petition, CNN said, but to sign, you must be registered to vote in specific states.

Those who sign the petition will receive $100, and people who refer a petition signer get $100 as well, according to the petition’s website. They are also entered into the daily lottery to win $1 million.

News of the giveaway raised legal concerns from experts and Gov. Josh Shapiro.

“I think there are real questions with how he is spending money in this race, how the dark money is flowing, not just into Pennsylvania, but apparently now into the pockets of Pennsylvanians,” he told NBC. “That is deeply concerning.”

Pressure has been mounting on state and federal authorities to investigate Musk’s lottery, NBC News reported. On Monday, a group of ex-prosecutors and other former government officials sent a letter to the Justice Department requesting an investigation.

The warning letter Wednesday came from the Justice Department’s public integrity section, which investigates potential election-related law violations, CNN reported.

It’s not clear when Musk received the Justice Department’s letter and whether it prompted changes to messaging around the giveaway, according to CNN.