On Wednesday, it was reported that the DOJ sent a letter to America PAC warning that the scheme may break federal laws against paying people to register to vote. Legal experts have said that at best, Musk’s scheme falls into a legal gray area. Now it seems that the tech mogul is daring the federal government to take action against him and press charges, which would not only create a major media circus, but also result in a long legal battle against the world’s richest man.
Musk has thumbed his nose at the federal government and gotten away with it in the past. He faced penalties from the Securities and Exchange Commission for lying on X (formerly Twitter) about being able to take his Tesla car company private, but was able to stay on as CEO, only paying a fine and losing his board chairman position for three years. With his vast net worth, he could probably drag out any court case against him, even when the DOJ is involved. Moreover, if the DOJ were to hit Musk with criminal charges, the case would continue long after Election Day on November 5, and the tech mogul would likely still keep giving money away in the meantime.
In addition to his lottery, Musk is busy with his other efforts to return Donald Trump to the White House, including talking strategy with right-wing media baron Rupert Murdoch, keeping negative stories about Trump off of his X platform, and posting debunked conspiracy theories as well as misinformation.