Wisconsin commission says Elon Musk may have violated bribery law

The Wisconsin Elections Commission voted 5-1 to send two complaints against Elon Musk to Brown County prosecutors after finding his $1 million offer to Wisconsin voters may have crossed the state’s election bribery law. The closed-session vote came July 9, 2026, and Brown County District Attorney David Lasee now has 40 days to tell the commission whether he will seek criminal charges.

The complaints came from a Milwaukee man and a Green Bay woman. The commission found Musk’s post on social media offering $1 million to people who voted in the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court election may have crossed the law.

Wisconsin’s bribery statute makes it a crime to give “anything of value” worth more than $1 to induce a person to vote or not vote.

Musk-backed groups and allies spent at least $20 million supporting Republican-backed candidate Brad Schimel, who lost to liberal Justice Susan Crawford by 10 percentage points. Musk also personally handed out $1 million checks to three supporters in Green Bay the weekend before the election, including two checks distributed in person at a rally on March 30, 2025.

Before that, Musk had already tried smaller rewards, including $20 payments to people who signed up on his group’s website to knock on doors for Schimel and posted proof. A June 2025 lawsuit by a Wisconsin watchdog group also sought to bar Musk from offering cash payments to voters again in the state.

Lasee, a Republican, did not immediately comment.