The billionaire and America PAC were accused by Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner of running an illegal lottery.
PHILADELPHIA—A judge has denied Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s request to block the $1 million giveaway program that billionaire Elon Musk and America PAC have been operating in the lead-up to the Nov. 5 election.
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas Judge Angelo Foglietta issued the denial after a Nov. 4 hearing that was prompted by Krasner’s civil lawsuit against Musk and America PAC.
Krasner had accused Musk and America PAC of running an illegal lottery, which he said created a public nuisance, and violating a state consumer protection law. The program is set to conclude on Election Day, Nov. 5.
The two sides had a brief hearing on Oct. 31, but Foglietta decided that he had been divested of jurisdiction after Musk filed to move the case to federal court. A federal judge sent the case back to state court the following day, and Foglietta quickly responded by scheduling a hearing for Nov. 4.
Foglietta said at the beginning of the hearing that because another day remained for the program, he didn’t think the case was moot. Musk was not in the courtroom, located within Philadelphia City Hall.
America PAC attorney Chris Gober argued that despite Musk’s description of the giveaway as random, the program was not random. Gober said the program involved a contractual relationship in which participants served as spokespeople for the political action committee after being selected by a predetermined pool of people.
So far, several individuals from Pennsylvania have won as part of the giveaway. Krasner’s complaint cited a post on X in which America PAC said more than 280,000 registered voters in Pennsylvania had signed the petition, which makes them eligible for the giveaway.
Gober said that 6,661 of 18,000 payments—of differing amounts—owed to the residents of Philadelphia County had already been mailed. Around 3,000 were in process and slated to be mailed on Nov. 4 while the remaining—around 7,000—were slated to be mailed on Nov. 5.
