Elon Musk’s political group has been deciding who receives $1m (£772,000) in its election giveaway, and not been choosing winners randomly, a lawyer representing the billionaire said on Monday.
One of Donald Trump’s biggest supporters in the election, Musk has offered the sum to registered voters in swing states through his America PAC, in what many believed was a lottery-style contest.
Philadelphia District Attorney Lawrence Krasner called the giveaway “an illegal lottery” when he sued Musk and the group last month.
But Musk’s lawyer Chris Gober told a Pennsylvania judge that the group selects the recipients, according to media reports. The judge later ruled that the giveaway can continue.
Common Pleas Court Judge Angelo Foglietta did not immediately give a reason for the ruling, made a few hours after the hearing, according to the Associated Press.
America PAC has been awarding $1m to a voter in one of the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan and North Carolina each day in the leadup to Election Day.
Before the court hearing, the group announced a man named Joshua in Arizona was awarded the money for Monday.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, which Musk owns, the group added: “Every day until Election Day, a person who signs will be selected to earn $1m as a spokesperson for America PAC”.
Gober told the court that America PAC has already determined the final recipient who will be announced on Election Day and who is from Michigan, US media reported.
“The $1 million recipients are not chosen by chance,” Gober said, according to the Associated Press. “We know exactly who will be announced as the $1 million recipient today and tomorrow.”
But when the world’s richest man unveiled the giveaway last month, many believed it was a random drawing for registered voters who signed a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments of the US Constitution.
“We are going to be awarding $1m randomly to people who have signed the petition, every day, from now until the election,” Musk told a campaign event.
A few days later, the US Justice Department warned that the group could be breaking election laws, which forbid paying people to register to vote. Krasner’s office then sued to stop it.
Musk has been aggressively campaigning for Trump in swing states across the country, and his committee has been pushing hard in Pennsylvania, where polls suggest Trump is in a tie with Vice-President Kamala Harris, a Democrat.
A lawyer in Krasner’s office told Reuters that Gober’s comments in court are “a complete admission of liability”.
During the hearing, prosecutors played a video where Musk, who is also the chief executive of SpaceX, said that “all we ask” is that the winners serve as spokespeople for the group, Reuters reported.
But Chris Young, the director of America PAC, said in court that the recipients are screened and must have values aligned with the group, US media reported.
Those who receive the money sign non-disclosure agreements that block them from publicly discussing the terms of their contracts, according to Reuters.
Musk did not attend Monday’s hearing.
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