Elon Musk blows off court hearing on $1 million voter sweepstakes

Elon Musk was a no-show at a mandatory court appearance in Philadelphia on Thursday, after a judge ordered the billionaire and representatives of his Donald Trump-supporting political action committee to a hearing over a lawsuit targeting his $1 million sweepstakes to Pennsylvania voters.

On Wednesday, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner — who is trying to block the world’s wealthiest man and his America PAC from an “illegal lottery scheme” to influence voters — warned a judge that Musk’s X posts against the lawsuit have inspired an “avalanche” of attacks, including antisemitic abuse and calls for masked intruders to invade the DA’s home.

Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas Judge Angelo Foglietta moved an upcoming hearing on the lawsuit to Thursday morning. The judge ordered that all parties must be present.

But hours later, Musk’s attorneys asked a federal court to take the case instead, claiming that “allegations of interference in a federal election for President of the United States … necessarily are matters for the federal judiciary,” not for a local DA.

Musk did not appear in court. But he shared a post on his X account four minutes after Thursday’s hearing was scheduled to start.

The judge agreed to pause proceedings as Musk tries to make his case a federal one.

“Elon Musk didn’t show,” John Summers, an attorney for Krasner, told reporters at City Hall on Thursday.

“We are going to handle this case, and continue to handle this case,” he added. “We will proceed to federal court and we will address the issues there and seek to have the matter remanded back to the state court.”

The lawsuit specifically involves state law, he stressed, “and I’ll leave it at that.”

The lawsuit marks the first legal action against the billionaire’s stunt, which offered people who signed his PAC’s petition supporting First and Second Amendment rights the chance to win a random daily $1 million prize drawing.

But the giveaway is only open to registered voters in seven swing states, drawing warnings from election law experts and civil rights groups that the scheme could be seen as an illegal vote-buying operation.

Krasner’s office accused Musk of launching an “illegal lottery scheme” to influence voters and argued that only the state of Pennsylvania can administer lotteries.

Krasner also argued that Musk’s claim that the prize is a “random” drawing “appears to be false,” according to the lawsuit. “Multiple winners that have been selected are individuals who have shown up at Trump rallies in Pennsylvania,” the suit added.

The stunt has also been the subject of a warning from the Department of Justice.

Musk, meanwhile, has defended the contest, claiming that the petition is not designed to register people to vote and is merely a “petition in support of the Constitution of the United States, and in particular, freedom of speech and the right to bear arms,” he said on X last week.

Pennsylvania is at the center of a growing amount of litigation surrounding the 2024 election, including a lawsuit from Trump’s campaign in Bucks County that claims voters submitting mail-in ballots in person have been turned away.

Pennsylvania’s secretary of state Al Schmidt denied those claims, and a judge assured that those voters could submit their mail-in ballots. The incident impacted three people, according to court filings.