Elon Musk told an Allegheny County audience Sunday that democracy is in peril.

Musk brought his super PAC sponsored tour through Pennsylvania to the Roxian Theater in McKees Rocks to enlist support for former President Donald Trump and promote voter registration and mail-in balloting ahead of the November election and a promise of cash for those who attend.

“President Trump is the only one who can save demo­cracy,” Musk told the enthusiastic crowd.

Musk touted the event as a town hall. It is among a handful of events Musk is hosting throughout Pennsylvania, a key battleground state in the race for president.

Musk has become a key figure in the race for the White House, using his popularity and reach to push the campaigns for Trump and U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick.

“One of the biggest challenges we have is apathy, where maybe they think their vote doesn’t count and it’s not serious enough. So, it is really important to go out there to explain the importance of this election and how democracy is on the line. This might be the last election,” Musk said.

During his 30-minute speech, Musk downplayed his desire to enter politics, said he feared his own assassination and pushed Trump’s agenda while blasting Democrats over what he said was their desire to overturn the U.S. Constitution.

He claimed he was “super liberal,” and touted his own technological accomplishments such as electric cars and rockets, but also talked about his desire to serve as Trump’s director of newly created agency to promote government efficiency.

During a lengthy question and answer session, he was asked about his position on abortion and fell short of calling for a national ban, saying the issue was both nuanced and difficult.

“My opinion is if a baby can survive outside the womb, it cannot be aborted. At that point it is not abortion, it is murder,” Musk said.

Musk fielded a variety of questions, for about 90 minutes, many focusing on his businesses and technological advances.

Capacity crowd

Crowds of Trump and Musk fans lined up for blocks waiting to enter the theater, where seats were draped with gold Terrible Towels. Staff said a capacity crowd of about 1,200 jammed into the century-old theater with an overflow crowd streamed a broadcast of the event.

Musk has become a strong supporter of Trump, and appeared with him at a campaign rally in Butler this month. According to public records, the political action committee America PAC has been funded exclusively by Musk.

Entry into the event at the theater was limited to those registered to vote in Pennsylvania who sign an online petition supporting the First and Second amendments.

According to social media posts, Musk pledged to pay petition signers up to $100.

At his town hall event Saturday night near Harrisburg, Musk announced a $1 million prize will be doled out each day to a petition signer, including Kristen Fishell, whose hometown was not announced, who won the prize Sunday.

Legal experts have debated the propriety of Musk’s payments.

Pennsylvania’s voter register deadline is Monday.

Applications for mail-in ballots for Pennsylvania voters can be submitted through Oct. 29.

Locally, more than 200,000 mail-in ballots have been sent to voters in Allegheny County and about 45,000 in Westmoreland County, according to election officials. Republican voters have accounted for about 20% of the returned mail-in ballots and about 38% of all requests as of last week in Westmoreland County, according to officials.

Musk said data shows 60,000 Republicans in Western Pennsylvania have requested mail-in ballots and have yet to turn them in.

We want to make sure that everyone in swing states hears about this and I suspect this will ensure they do.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 20, 2024

Those who came Sunday said they did so to hear a talk from the world’s wealthiest man and to possibly leave with a little more money in their pockets.

Karen Hempki of Mt. Lebanon said she didn’t know cash was on the table.

“I wanted to come and get pumped up for the election, be part of a movement,” Hempki said, noting she signed Musk’s petitions and was hoping to be a $1 million winner.

Jeff Conklin, 33, of Baldwin, a Trump supporter, said hearing and potentially speaking with Musk was the draw.

“I am an engineer, and I am a huge fan of Elon myself. I want to get a chance to meet him and ask him questions. I need to understand Trump’s plan on clean energy and nuclear energy. When I heard Elon was coming and that Trump was in town, that was a win-win,” Conklin said.

Trump is scheduled to be at Acrisure Stadium as the guest of an unnamed patron when the Steelers play the New York Jets Sunday evening.

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