Judge orders Elon Musk to testify in voter giveaway fraud cases

A federal judge in Austin ordered Elon Musk to testify under oath in two proposed class actions that accuse him of misleading voters before the 2024 election with a promised $1 million-a-day giveaway. U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Hightower also recommended that a fraud claim against Musk and America PAC move forward in one of the cases, while dismissing a breach-of-contract claim and keeping the dispute alive for now.

Joy Harvick and Jacqueline McAferty, both from Arizona, brought the suits over an America PAC petition drive they said presented itself like a random sweepstakes while functioning as a political data operation. Hightower left open the question of whether Musk acted recklessly when he used the word “randomly” to describe how payments would be made. The plaintiffs argue that the 18 winners were not picked by chance but were selected because they could serve as effective spokespeople for the pro-Trump effort.

Musk launched America PAC to support Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential run and announced the giveaway at a town hall in Pennsylvania in October 2024. The petition, titled “Petition in Favor of Free Speech and the Right to Bear Arms,” asked signers for their first and last name, email, mailing address and phone number, then offered $47 per referral for registered voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina. The offer expired on Election Day, the same day McAferty filed suit in the Western District of Texas.

U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman had already found on Aug. 20, 2025, that McAferty plausibly alleged Musk and America PAC induced signers in seven battleground states to hand over personal information in exchange for a chance to win the payouts. Pitman also said an expert in political data brokerage could testify about what that information was worth to voters in those states. McAferty has sought at least $5 million in damages for people who signed the petition.

The case builds on an earlier fight in Philadelphia, where Common Pleas Court Judge Angelo Foglietta refused on Nov. 4, 2024, to block the giveaway and later said prosecutors had not shown it was an illegal lottery under Pennsylvania law. At the time, the giveaway had already paid out $17 million across swing states, and defense lawyers argued the winners were chosen as spokespeople rather than at random. In a February 2026 deposition, America PAC director Christopher Young said he was “surprised” by Musk’s wording and that it was not the program discussed with lawyers and consultants. Pitman will now review Hightower’s recommendation.