Elon Musk Deletes Tweet Promising to Hand Out ‘Two Checks For a Million Dollars’ At Campaign Event As He’s Accused of ‘Blatant Felony’
AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
Elon Musk clarified his reason for visiting Wisconsin in the midst of a heated Supreme Court race after the billionaire deleted a tweet promising to hand out two $1 million checks “in appreciation for you taking the time to vote.”
“On Sunday night, I will give a talk in Wisconsin,” Musk wrote in his update on X. “To clarify a previous post, entrance is limited to those who have signed the petition in opposition to activist judges. I will also hand over checks for a million dollars to 2 people to be spokesmen for the petition.”
In his original X post, Musk said entrance to the event would be “limited to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election.”
“I will also personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote,” he wrote in the deleted post. “This is super important.”
It was previously announced that a Green Bay voter named Scott Ainsworth would be awarded $1 million for signing Musk’s “Petition In Opposition To Activist Judges.”
Ainsworth was part of a video encouraging people to vote for Brad Schimel in the Supreme Court race. He’s referred to as a “$1 million spokesperson.” Ainsworth already received his check, so it was unclear from Musk’s posts exactly who would be receiving the pair of checks he was talking about. Musk’s group previously offered $100 to anyone who signed the petition against “activist” judges and another $100 for anyone they referred.
Susan Crawford, the liberal opponent of Schimel, called Musk’s visit to Wisconsin a “last-minute distraction.”
Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler, meanwhile, released a statement and accused Musk of “blatantly illegal” behavior.
“Elon Musk has committed a blatant felony by offering money for votes in order to help Brad Schimel. Musk’s illegal election bribery scheme to put Brad Schimel on the Supreme Court is a chainsaw attack on democracy and the rule of law in Wisconsin and our nation,” Wikler wrote.
Wikler called for Musk to be “brought to justice for his attempt to buy votes.”
Musk’s original tweet did refer to the event being limited to voters while his updated tweet refers to people who have signed the petition. It would be a felony under Wisconsin law to offer anything in exchange for a vote.
Kevin Kennedy, Wisconsin’s former state elections chief, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that it’s “unresolved” whether Musk violated the law.
“When it comes to prosecuting this, you’ve got to remember there has to be an intent to commit a crime,” he said. “Musk needs to say, ‘I gave this to get them to go to the polls.'”
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said though that he plans on taking “legal action” on the matter.
“The Wisconsin Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that elections in Wisconsin are safe, secure, free, and fair. We are aware of the offer recently posted by Elon Musk to award a million dollars to two people at an event in Wisconsin this weekend,” Kaul announced in a statement. “Based on our understanding of applicable Wisconsin law, we intend to take legal action today to seek a court order to stop this from happening.”
Wisconsin’s election will be held on Tuesday, April 1.
