Elon Musk’s lawyer told a Pennsylvania judge that the winners of a million-dollar voter giveaway were chosen “not by chance.”
Bloomberg reports the lawyer, Chris Gober, made the surprise admission at a court hearing where the Philadelphia district attorney is trying to stop the contest, saying it’s an illegal lottery. Gober argued, however, that the sweepstakes is not a lottery because the winners were selected on their “suitability” to be a public spokesperson for Musk’s political action committee, often based on their personal stories.
As a result, the udge on Monday rejected a request by the Philadelphia District Attorney to block a $1 million daily giveaway. Philadelphia County Common Pleas Court Judge Angelo Foglietta in an order said he would explain his reason for denying the request to block the giveaway, which the DA has called an illegal lottery, in a later written ruling.
Musk’s pro-Donald Trump America PAC has been giving away the money every day until Election Day on Nov. 5 to people who sign a petition calling for free speech and the right to bear arms. The winner must be a registered voter in a swing state. The contest doesn’t specify which candidate voters should cast their ballots for.
Chris Young, the PAC’s treasurer, said at the hearing Monday that he was surprised to hear Musk say at a rally last month that the recipients would be chosen at random.
Young said each of the recipients of the $1 million payments are required to sign employment agreements for the PAC. He said they earn the money through that work and are selected based on how many people they referred and other criteria such as their alignment with the program’s values.
“Anyone who participated in the program knew exactly” what was expected of them, Young said.
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