Musk clarifies plan to hand out $1M checks ahead of Wisconsin Supreme Court race

Tech billionaire Elon Musk clarified a previous post he made on social media Friday about a trip he’s making to Wisconsin ahead of a high-stakes state Supreme Court race next week.

In his original post, Musk announced that he would be heading to Wisconsin to give a talk Sunday night to people who had voted in the election.

“I will also personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote. This is super important,” he wrote.

That post was later deleted after experts suggested he would be violating Wisconsin state law, which says that that anyone who “Offers, gives, lends or promises to give or lend, or endeavors to procure, anything of value, or any office or employment or any privilege or immunity to, or for, any elector, or to or for any other person, in order to induce any elector to” go or not go to the polls, or vote or not vote, is illegal.

Musk later clarified his plan in a new post on his social platform X.

“On Sunday night, I will give a talk in Wisconsin. To clarify a previous post, entrance is limited to those who have signed the petition in opposition to activist judges. I will also hand over checks for a million dollars to 2 people to be spokesmen for the petition.”

Musk’s super PAC, America PAC, circulated a petition last week that reads: “Judges should interpret laws as written, not rewrite them to fit their personal or political agendas. By signing below, I’m rejecting the actions of activist judges who impose their own views and demanding a judiciary that respects its role—interpreting, not legislating.”

The super PAC pays Wisconsin voters who sign it $100 and appears to implicitly knock liberal candidate Susan Crawford, who’s running against conservative candidate Brad Schimel to fill a vacancy on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race.

Tuesday’s election will determine whether the high court remains a 4-3 liberal majority or flips to a conservative majority.

Musk and President Trump have endorsed Schimel, and America PAC has spent millions of dollars in support of Schimel. Various local and national Democratic groups are backing Crawford in the race, with donors including Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and George Soros getting involved.

Musk’s involvement underscores the Tesla CEO’s growing influence within the GOP and is particularly noteworthy given Republicans have often struggled to make up the fundraising deficit against Democrats in elections.

Musk is also getting involved in a pair of House elections in Florida next week to support the two GOP candidates running in the 1st and 6th congressional districts. Those districts are expected to remain within the GOP fold, though the 6th Congressional District could be closer than expected.

Updated at 2:18 p.m. EDT