Elon Musk was sued Tuesday in a class-action lawsuit brought by registered voters who signed his petition to support the constitution for a chance to win his million-dollar-a-day donation, and now claim it was a fraud.
The complaint, filed by Arizona resident Jacqueline McAferty in federal court, said Musk and his America Pac organization falsely induced voters to sign a petition claiming they would choose winners by chance. In fact, Pac members selected the winners, the lawsuit alleges. Musk’s own lawyers said in court that the results of the drawing were not random; They revealed that the winners were chosen to be spokespersons for the group.
“Million-dollar recipients are not chosen by chance,” Chris Gober, Musk’s attorney, said during a hearing in Pennsylvania. “We know exactly who will be announced as the recipient of $1 million today and tomorrow.” Meanwhile, Musk said at a campaign rally that his Pac would “give $1 million randomly to people who have signed the petition.”
McAferty also said the defendants had profited from the giveaway by driving traffic and attention to Musk’s X social media platform, and by collecting personal information such as his name, address and phone number that they could sell. A lawyer for Musk and lawyers for McAferty did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the complaint.
McAferty filed the lawsuit a day after a Philadelphia judge denied a request by Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner to end the drawing, which Krasner called an illegal lottery. That ruling was largely symbolic because Musk has no plans to give more money after the US presidential election.
The world’s richest person opened the drawing to voters in seven battleground states who signed a petition to support free speech and the right to bear arms. Tuesday’s lawsuit seeks at least $5 million in damages for everyone who signed.
Musk has supported Donald Trump in the presidential race against Kamala Harris and has donated more than $100 million through America Pac.
Read more of The Guardian’s 2024 US election coverage
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