Elon Musk Distributes $1 Million Checks to Wisconsin Voters Amid Supreme Court Election

Elon Musk's $1 million gift giveaway to Wisconsin voters before a key Supreme Court election highlights tensions between political expression and legal boundaries in electoral processes.

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has initiated a noteworthy cash giveaway of $1 million (£770,000) checks to voters in Wisconsin, coinciding with a critical state Supreme Court election slated for Tuesday. This move comes in the face of opposition from Wisconsin's Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, who has sought to halt the distribution, claiming it violates state laws prohibiting gifts in exchange for votes. Musk announced his intentions just days before the election, underscoring its significance as a battleground that could shift control of the state’s supreme court to Republicans.

At a rally on Sunday night, Musk reiterated his desire for impartial judicial processes, presenting two $1 million checks to voters who supported a petition to oppose “activist” judges. Attorney General Kaul maintains that this giveaway is an illicit ploy to sway voters. However, Musk’s legal representatives countered that such actions are a form of political expression protected under the First Amendment and aimed at fostering grassroots opposition to judicial activism—rather than supporting specific candidates.

Wisconsin's Supreme Court ultimately declined to intervene, following two lower courts’ decisions favoring Musk, which extended a window of opportunity for the giveaway to proceed. Musk, backed by former President Donald Trump, supports conservative candidate Brad Schimel, in a contest against Susan Crawford, a judge endorsed by Wisconsin’s current liberal justices. As political analysts view the race as indicative of Trump's future influence just months after his second inauguration, the stakes feel particularly high with critical upcoming cases on issues like abortion, voting regulations, and congressional redistricting.

Musk has significantly financed Schimel's campaign with a $14 million contribution, contributing to this election’s record-breaking spending approaching $81 million. Despite the financial backing, Schimel distanced himself from Musk's recent actions, expressing confusion about the rally's purpose in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

This isn’t Musk's first foray into voter giveaways; he previously proposed a similar initiative in 2022, offering $1 million daily to voters who backed First and Second Amendment rights petitions. A Pennsylvania judge ruled that last year’s giveaway complied with legal standards, illustrating the complex interplay of generosity, political motivation, and legal scrutiny in modern electoral politics.