During the height of the 2024 presidential campaign, Elon Musk promised Pennsylvanians a $100 reward for signing a petition in support of free speech and gun ownership rights. The billionaire also offered $47 to anyone who recruited a signatory to the petition — and increased the payment to $100 as Election Day drew near.
Now, a canvasser for Mr. Musk’s America PAC who gathered signatures in Pennsylvania is suing the executive, saying Mr. Musk failed to pay him for $20,000 worth of signatures. The worker, who filed suit Tuesday as a John Doe for privacy reasons, accused Mr. Musk of breach of contracts and failing to deliver on his promises to pay by Nov. 30.
The lawsuit, filed as a class action against Mr. Musk and his super PAC in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, would allow plaintiffs who signed the petition or gathered signatures from others to seek payment. Several other workers for Mr. Musk’s PAC may join the suit, according to the filing.
Mr. Musk and a lawyer who represents his super PAC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
America PAC says on its website that it has paid the majority of people who signed its Pennsylvania petition.
“Consistent with the November 30 payment goal that we set for ourselves, America PAC has already mailed the overwhelming majority of checks owed to eligible referrers and petition signers,” the super PAC’s frequently asked questions page says. “If you haven’t received payment yet, that does not necessarily mean you won’t.”
Mr. Musk’s petition payment promises were part of a broader strategy to flex his wealth heading into Election Day. In the campaign’s final days, he ramped up the effort by promising to enter signers in a daily $1 million giveaway. Philadelphia’s district attorney challenged the giveaway, calling it an illegal lottery, but a judge allowed it to continue after Mr. Musk’s team argued that the winners were not selected by chance, but based in part on their personal story and “suitability” to be paid.
Mr. Musk has continued to use his wealth to incentivize voters to support conservative causes. During a visit to Wisconsin on Sunday, Mr. Musk handed out two checks for $1 million to local voters who signed a petition supporting a conservative candidate for the state’s Supreme Court. (For 12 hours, Mr. Musk floated a questionable plan to open the sweepstakes only to Wisconsin residents who had already voted, but backtracked in the face of legal scrutiny.)
