The billionaire is driving voter registration before the Oct. 21 deadline in the battleground state.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Pa.—At another solo stumping event in Pennsylvania for former President Donald Trump, billionaire Elon Musk told more than 1,000 attendees that reelecting Trump is “incredibly important.” He urged voters to register in the swing state before the deadline on Oct. 21.
On Oct. 17, Musk increased the reward per voter registration or referral from $47, which his political action committee (PAC) offers in all battleground states, to $100 in Pennsylvania only. To qualify for the payout, the voter must also sign a petition to endorse the First and Second Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
Musk’s Friday town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center was the second of a series of events to support Trump. A Thursday University of Massachusetts and YouGov survey showed Vice President Kamala Harris with a one-point lead. Without winning the Keystone State, both candidates’ path to the White House will be more difficult.
Musk explained why he became politically active during this general election, “I think the election is a super big deal. It’s really the difference between freedom and opportunity or oppression and communism, essentially. That’s what we’re looking at.”
He encouraged Trump supporters to be “loud and proud” and put up lawn signs in blue areas in the Commonwealth, which is concentrated in and near Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
A common theme of Friday night’s discussion was Musk’s potential job in Trump’s administration to improve government efficiency. Trump has repeatedly said at rallies that he wants to cut down regulations to help business and economic growth.
Musk said he would “reduce a lot of government headcount” by giving the fired government workers a two-year severance so they could “figure out something else to do.”
He also liked an idea proposed by attendees—using artificial intelligence to track laws and regulations and government spending.
Many attendees admired the products and technology Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX companies have developed. On Oct. 13, SpaceX’s reusable Starship rocket—key to NASA’s plan to build a permanent base on the moon—successfully returned to the launchpad for the first time.
By Terri Wu and William Huang
