Elon Musk Keeps Getting Hit With Lawsuits For Duping Trump Supporters

Billionaire Elon Musk has been hit with several proposed class-action lawsuits over allegations that his political action committee engaged in fraud by falsely telling voters they had a chance to randomly win $1 million when winners had actually been predetermined.
Musk set up the committee, America PAC, in October to support President-elect Donald Trump’s winning presidential run. As part of the PAC, Musk enticed Trump supporters in battleground states by promising them a chance at the cash prize if they gave away their personal identifying information and signed an online petition in support of “free speech and the right to bear arms.”
Starting on Oct. 19 until the election on Nov. 5, Musk handed out at least $16 million to more than a dozen winners.
“I have a surprise for you,” Musk said at a rally for Trump last month. “We are going to be awarding $1 million to people who have signed the petition every day, from now until the election.”
As voters flocked at the chance to win money, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner went to court to accuse Musk of running an illegal lottery scheme.
A Pennsylvania judge allowed the payouts to continue after attorneys for Musk’s PAC successfully argued that it wasn’t actually a lottery because winners were selected “based on their suitability” to serve as spokespeople for the PAC and earned the $1 million as payment.
In short: There were no random winners of the $1 million payouts.
Now, Musk has been hit with three lawsuits accusing him of fraud and breach of contract for lying to voters about their chances to win.
On Nov. 5 ― the day of the election ― Jacqueline McAferty of Arizona filed a lawsuit against Musk alleging she was duped into providing personal information to America PAC for the false promise of being eligible to win $1 million.
“Defendants knew their representations were false at the time they were made,” the complaint says. “Defendants have continued to promote the petition as a chance to win $1,000,000 ‘randomly’ while simultaneously choosing winners based on selective, pre-determined criteria.”
That same day, a Michigan lawyer filed a separate proposed class-action lawsuit against Musk.
And earlier this week, Texas lawyer Mark Bankston filed a lawsuit on behalf of Joy Harvick of Arizona.
“Had Plaintiff been aware that the lottery was not random, or that she did not have a fair chance to win the prize, or that her selection hinged on her perceived favorability to Defendants as a marketing prop, she would not have signed or supported the America PAC petition and would not have provided her PII [Personal Identifying Information] to Defendants,” the complaint obtained by HuffPost says.
Attorney Josh Sanford, who is representing McAferty, told HuffPost in a call that the lawsuit isn’t about politics, it’s about holding Musk accountable for his lies.
“The people who have sued Musk and his PAC agree with him on very fundamental political issues, but these lawsuits are not about those issues,” Sanford said. “These lawsuits are about how we are accountable to people for the promises that we make, and it doesn’t matter what your politics are. As Americans, we are above lying to people to get them to do what we want them to do.”
Attorney Bankston, who has previously represented Sandy Hook families who successfully sued conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for defamation, offered this statement.
“This is America, so I’m used to people lying and cheating, but doing it in connection with an election is something I won’t abide,” Bankston said. “We wouldn’t tolerate this behavior in a two-bit casino, and we won’t tolerate it from this man either.”
Bankston deposed Musk earlier this year in relation to a lawsuit in which Musk is accused of falsely suggesting a 22-year-old Jewish man was part of a neo-Nazi brawl.
Musk’s America PAC has also been hit with a separate class-action lawsuit by canvassers for the PAC who allege they weren’t paid agreed-upon wages.
Musk attorney Alex Spiro did not respond to a request for comment.
Bankston said he plans to bring more plaintiffs into the lawsuit.
“Anyone who signed Musk’s petition believing they actually had a random chance to win could bring a similar claim, and I’d encourage them to do so,” he said.