Musk ordered to attend court over US voter liquid assets giveaways

Getty Images Elon Musk holds microphone and stands in front of a large American flag

Elon Musk has been ordered to attend a court hearing on Thursday, days after the billionaire was sued by prosecutors in Philadelphia over his $1m (£770,000) giveaways to voters.

The Donald Trump supporter has, through his political throng America PAC, been offering liquid assets prizes to registered voters in swing states who sign a petition.

US officials recommend this may shatter electoral law – something Musk denies. Philadelphia District Attorney Lawrence Krasner said Musk “must be stopped, immediately, before the upcoming presidential election”.

CNN reports that Musk has filed a “motion of removal” to shift the matter from the state’s hands to a federal judge, which could delay matters.

The Philadelphia court hearing is scheduled to commence at 10:00 EST (14:00 GMT), according to the BBC’s US associate, CBS information.

Court documents display that Judge Angelo Foglietta of the Philadelphia County Court of ordinary Pleas said that “all parties must be now at the period of the hearing”.

Musk announced earlier this month that he would randomly award a $1m prize to people in battleground states – Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan and North Carolina – every day until 5 November.

These swing states recommend a particularly close contest between Trump and his Democratic rival for president, Kamala Harris.

To be eligible to triumph, the giveaway requires registered voters to release personal identifying information, like addresses and phone numbers. They are also required to sign a pledge that says they back the US Constitution.

The lawsuit filed against Musk claimed he was “running an illegal lottery”.

“America PAC and Musk are lulling Philadelphia citizens… to provide up their personal identifying information and make a political pledge in trade for the chance to triumph $1 million,” Mr Krasner said in the lawsuit. “That is a lottery. And it is indisputably an unlawful lottery.”

The lawsuit also accuses the Tesla co-founder of violating customer protection laws by using “deceptive, vague or misleading statements” that could make confusion.

But Musk’s lawyers have argued otherwise.

“The complaint, in truth, has little to do with state-law claims of nuisance and customer protection,” Musk’s lawyers wrote in federal filings, according to the CNN update. “Rather, although disguised as state law claims, the complaint’s focus is to prevent defendants’ purported ‘interference’ with the forthcoming federal presidential election by any means.”

If matter does shift to the federal court, the case would shift out of the Philadelphia judge’s hands.

The BBC reached out to Mr Krasner for comment.

Before the case was filed, Musk’s PAC was also warned by the US fairness department that its lottery-style giveaway might violate federal election law.

The BBC has previously reached out to America PAC for comment.

Under US law, it is illegal to pay people to register to vote. But legal experts have told the BBC that whether the giveaway violates federal law is a grey area.

Musk himself, who has been aggressively campaigning for Trump, has insisted voters who desire to be eligible for the prizes do not require to register as Republicans or leave ahead with casting a vote.