(The Hill) — On Thursday, a federal judge mandated that Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, provide sworn testimony in connection with two lawsuits alleging he deceived voters in critical swing states ahead of the 2024 general elections.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Hightower from the Western District of Texas instructed Musk to appear for a deposition related to a fraud suit filed by two women from Arizona. They allege that Musk’s political action committee, America PAC, misled voters into divulging personal information as part of a scheme claiming to distribute $1 million daily until Election Day.
This promise was made by Musk during an October 2024 town hall gathering in Pennsylvania, where he pledged monetary rewards contingent on signing a petition associated with America PAC.
“The sole requirement for the million-dollar offer is for you to become a spokesperson for the petition,” Musk informed a selected audience member during the event.
Judge Hightower noted the unresolved issue of whether Musk acted irresponsibly with his promise to “randomly” distribute money, as reported by Reuters. She referenced testimony from February 2026 given by America PAC’s director, Christopher Young, who expressed his “surprise” at Musk’s statement.
Plaintiffs Joy Harvick and Jacqueline McAferty accused Musk and America PAC of misleading voters across seven swing states by having them sign his petition, the outlet reported. They said the 19 winners were chosen because, quoting a Musk lawyer, they could be good spokespeople for America PAC.
Musk made similar pledges in other states, including Michigan. In October 2025, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner (D) sued Musk and America PAC over the giveaways, calling them “illegal lotteries.” Musk sought to move the lawsuit to federal court.
Rick Hasen, a University of California, Los Angeles Law School political science professor, said the law prohibits paying people for voting or registering to vote.
“If all he was doing was paying people to sign the petition, that might be a waste of money. But there’s nothing illegal about it,” Hasen told the Associated Press in October 2024. “The problem is that the only people eligible to participate in this giveaway are the people who are registered to vote. And that makes it illegal.”