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Musk accused of defrauding voters into signing petition

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Judge says voters' claims were plausible

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Lawyers for Musk not available for comment

By Jonathan Stempel

Aug 20 (Reuters) -

Elon Musk was ordered on Wednesday by a federal judge to

face a lawsuit by voters accusing the world's richest person of

defrauding them into signing a petition to support the U.S.

Constitution for a chance to win his $1 million-a-day giveaway.

U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman in Austin, Texas said

Jacqueline McAferty plausibly alleged in her proposed class

action that Musk and his political action committee America PAC

wrongly induced her to provide personal identifying information

as part of the giveaway, late in the 2024 election campaign.

Lawyers for Musk and America PAC did not immediately respond

to requests for comment.

Musk founded America PAC to support Republican Donald

Trump's successful 2024 presidential run.

McAferty, an Arizona resident, said Musk and America PAC

induced voters in seven battleground states to sign his petition

by promising that $1 million recipients would be chosen

randomly, as in a lottery, though the voters had no real chance

to collect.

She said voters who signed were also required to provide

names, addresses, email addresses and phone numbers.

In seeking a dismissal, Musk listed several "red flags" as

proof he had not run an illegal lottery.

He said these included statements that the $1 million

recipients were "selected to earn" the money and expected to

become America PAC spokespeople, defeating the idea that the

payment was a "prize."

But the judge cited other statements suggesting the

defendants were "awarding" the $1 million, and the money could

be "won."

"It is plausible that plaintiff justifiably relied on those

statements to believe that defendants were objectively offering

her the chance to enter a random lottery--even if that is not

what they subjectively intended to do," Pitman wrote.

The judge was appointed to the bench by President Barack

Obama in 2014.

Musk had also rejected the suggestion that petition signers

suffered harm by providing contact information. Pitman said an

expert in political data brokerage could testify what that

information was worth for voters in battleground states.

The lawsuit was filed on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024.

A day earlier, a Philadelphia judge refused to end Musk's

giveaway, saying that city's top prosecutor failed to show it

was an illegal lottery.

Musk is a Texas resident, and his electric car company Tesla

is based in Austin.

The case is McAferty v Musk et al, U.S. District Court,

Western District of Texas, No. 24-01346.