Elon Musk was ordered on Wednesday by a federal judge to defend himself against a lawsuit filed by voters who claim he misled them into signing a petition supporting the U.S. Constitution in exchange for a chance to win his $1 million-per-day giveaway.
U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman, based in Austin, Texas, ruled that Jacqueline McAferty had provided sufficient claims in her proposed class-action lawsuit, alleging that Musk and his political organization, America PAC, persuaded her to give personal identifying details as part of the promotion during the final stretch of the 2024 election season.
Attorneys representing Musk and America PAC did not immediately issue any statements regarding the case.
Musk created America PAC to assist Donald Trump during his successful 2024 presidential campaign.
McAferty, who resides in Arizona, alleges that Musk and America PAC targeted voters in seven key swing states, encouraging them to sign the petition by advertising that $1 million winners would be chosen “randomly,” resembling a lottery — even though participants had little to no genuine chance of receiving the money.
According to her claims, those who signed the petition were also required to provide full names, mailing addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers.
In an effort to have the lawsuit thrown out, Musk pointed to several “red flags” that he argued proved the promotion was not an illegal lottery.
He said this included the fact that the advertisements stated recipients of the $1 million were “selected to earn” the funds and were expected to act as spokespeople for America PAC, which he claimed contradicted the idea that the payment was a “prize.”
However, Judge Pitman pointed to other promotional language suggesting that the defendants were “awarding” $1 million and that the funds could, in fact, 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 in his ruling.
Pitman was appointed to the federal bench by President Barack Obama in 2014.
Musk also disputed the notion that participants suffered harm simply by sharing their personal contact details. However, the judge noted that an expert specializing in political data brokerage could testify regarding the monetary value of voter information collected from battleground states.
The lawsuit was officially filed on Election Day, November 5, 2024.
Just one day earlier, a Philadelphia judge denied a motion to halt Musk’s giveaway, ruling that the city’s top prosecutor had failed to demonstrate that the promotion constituted an illegal lottery.
Musk resides in Texas, and his electric vehicle company, Tesla, operates its headquarters out of Austin.
{Matzav.com}
