Elon Musk Says $1M Election Giveaway Wasn't Illegal Because Winners Weren't Random

A proposed class-action suit brought by a woman in Arizona is inching forward.

Elon Musk on Friday asked a federal judge in Austin, Texas, to dismiss a proposed class-action lawsuit against him and his political action committee, arguing that his $1 million daily giveaway to voters in battleground states wasn’t an illegal lottery because the winners weren’t actually chosen at random.

That is sharply different from what people were led to believe when they were asked to sign Musk’s petition pledging support to the First and Second Amendments, according to Arizona resident Jacqueline McAferty, who filed the suit against Musk and America PAC last November.

In the suit, McAferty pointed to Musk’s social media posts in the lead-up to the 2024 election where he said people who signed the petition would be chosen “randomly” each day to win a $1 million prize.

At a ceremony announcing the first winner, Musk brought a Pennsylvania man named John Dreher onstage and presented him with a lottery-style, giant check. “By the way,” Musk told the audience, “John had no idea.”

A second “random” drawing the next day selected Kristine Fishell, also of Pennsylvania, who said it was “the surprise of a lifetime” to be called onstage and presented with a similar lottery-style check.