Elon Musk settles lawsuits over $1 million voter giveaway
The Verge · LC · trust 23/100
Tech Close Tech Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
News Close News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Policy Close Policy Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Plaintiffs claiming Musk’s $1 million voter lottery was a fraud are settling for an undisclosed sum.
Plaintiffs claiming Musk’s $1 million voter lottery was a fraud are settling for an undisclosed sum.
Terrence O'Brien Close Terrence O'Brien Weekend Editor Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Share Gift Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Terrence O'Brien Close Terrence O'Brien Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
In 2024, Elon Musk promised to give away $1 million a day to a randomly selected registered voter in a swing state. That prompted legal challenges, raised questions about its legality, and drew lawsuits from two Arizona residents claiming the lottery was a fraud. Musk has now agreed to settle the two lawsuits filed in Austin, Texas, though the details of the settlement have not been made public.
The plaintiffs claim that when Musk announced the sweepstakes, he falsely claimed the prizes would be awarded randomly. Philadelphia’s District Attorney sued to stop the giveaway , claiming that Musk was running an illegal lottery. During a hearing, Chris Gober, a representative for Musk’s America PAC, told the judge that “The $1 million recipients are not chosen by chance … We know exactly who will be announced as the $1 million recipient today and tomorrow.”
That directly contradicted Musk’s claim that the drawings were random. The plaintiffs say they never would have signed the petition required to enter the giveaway if they had known it wasn’t random. They accused Musk and America PAC of using it as a ploy to obtain user data and said the petition “places no limitations on America PAC’s use of or sale of the personal data it collects, nor does it provide any additional information about the planned use of data.”
Terrence O'Brien Close Terrence O'Brien Weekend Editor Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Elon Musk Close Elon Musk Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Law Close Law Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
News Close News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Policy Close Policy Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Politics Close Politics Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Tech Close Tech Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
US Elections Close US Elections Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
A free daily digest of the news that matters most.
Read the original at The Verge →
Open in TruthVane →