Elon Musk is sued over $1 million election giveaway
By Jonathan Stempel
Nov 5 (Reuters) - Elon Musk was sued in a proposed class action on Tuesday by registered voters who signed his petition to support the Constitution for a chance to win his $1 million-a-day giveaway, and now claim it was a fraud.
The complaint filed by Arizona resident Jacqueline McAferty in the Austin, Texas federal court said Musk and his America PAC organization falsely induced voters to sign by claiming they would choose winners randomly, though they were predetermined.
She also said the defendants profited from the giveaway by driving traffic and attention to Musk's X social media platform, and by collecting personal information such as her 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 sued one day after a Philadelphia judge denied a request by that city's district attorney Larry Krasner to end the giveaway, which Krasner called an illegal lottery.
That ruling was largely symbolic because Musk has no plans to give out more money following the U.S. presidential election.
The world's richest person opened the giveaway to voters in seven battleground states who signed a petition to support free speech and gun rights. Tuesday's lawsuit seeks at least $5 million in damages for everyone who signed.
Musk is a Texas resident and his electric car company Tesla TSLA.O is based in Austin.
He has supported Republican Donald Trump in the presidential race against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
The case is McAferty v Musk et al, U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, No. 24-01346.
Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
