Billionaire Elon Musk likely violated Wisconsin law with his promises to award $1 million checks to voters in the 2025 state Supreme Court election, a bipartisan panel has determined. The Wisconsin Elections Commission has referred two complaints to the Brown County district attorney's office, which will now decide whether to pursue criminal charges.
Musk, founder of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla, was significantly involved in the campaign to shift control of Wisconsin's highest court. He and groups he supported collectively spent at least $20 million supporting Republican-backed candidate Brad Schimel, who ultimately lost to Democratic-backed candidate Susan Crawford by 10 percentage points. The total spending in the race exceeded $100 million, making it the most expensive judicial election in U.S. history.
The complaints, which are legally confidential under state law, were filed by voters in Milwaukee and Green Bay, the latter of which is located in Brown County. Musk distributed checks at a rally in Green Bay shortly before the election.
According to a motion approved by the elections commission, there is probable cause that Musk contravened Wisconsin law by posting on social media an offer of $1 million to individuals who voted in the Supreme Court election, with the intent to encourage participation.
Three Wisconsin voters received checks from Musk, including two who were given them in person at the Green Bay rally. Weeks prior to the election, Musk's political action committee, America PAC, offered $100 to voters who signed a petition opposing "activist judges" or referred others to do so.
Crawford's victory maintained liberal control of the state Supreme Court, a majority that grew to 5-2 following the subsequent win by Democratic-backed candidate Chris Taylor. A lawsuit filed by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, a government watchdog group, seeks to prevent Musk from making future cash payments in the state, alleging violations of laws against vote bribery and unauthorized lotteries, as well as unlawful conspiracy and public nuisance.
An earlier attempt by Wisconsin's Democratic attorney general to halt Musk's distribution of checks to two voters was unsuccessful, as state courts rejected the request. Musk's attorneys argued in legal filings that the payments were an exercise of free speech rights and that any restrictions would violate both state and federal constitutions. They contended the payments were intended to foster a grassroots movement against "activist judges" rather than to advocate for or against any specific candidate.
Musk's political action committee employed a similar strategy before the 2024 presidential election, offering $1 million daily to voters in Wisconsin and six other battleground states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments. A judge in Pennsylvania ruled that prosecutors had not demonstrated the effort constituted an illegal lottery, allowing it to proceed until Election Day.