Elon Musk Calls Philly DA's Lawsuit Over His $1 Million Voter Giveaway A 'Spectacle'

Elon Musk accused Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner of engaging in a rushed stage play and spectacle as he urged a federal judge on Friday to deny Krasners emergency request to keep a civil lawsuit against him in state court. 

Krasner sued the billionaire and his pro-Donald Trump America PAC over their pledge to give away $1 million daily to registered voters. Musk claims the giveaway is random, but Krasner alleges Musk is intentionally targeting voters in battleground states with an illegal lottery scheme meant to influence voters. 

Musk has argued that Krasner must square off with America PAC attorneys in federal court because the lawsuit raises questions about a federal election and the federal laws that govern political action committees, not state matters.

Krasner is adamant that his lawsuit isnt about whether Musk or America PAC are violating federal laws that ban vote-buying. Rather, the district attorney wants a state court, not a federal one, to determine whether the program violates Pennsylvanias prohibitions against illegal lotteries. 

Attorneys for Musks PAC filed a notice in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania federal court this week requesting to have the case remanded there. Explaining this maneuver in a brief filed Friday, a lawyer for the PAC wrote that PAC expenditures are political speech, and political speech is entitled to First Amendment protections, which is a federal jurisdictional issue.

The ploy to have the lawsuit remanded to federal court is a boon for the giveaway program. By the time the courts decide the merits of Musks or Krasners arguments, any practical effect of stopping the lottery may very well be moot. 

Musk is ending the giveaway on Nov. 5.

The Justice Department warned Musk in a letter last month that he may run afoul of federal election laws against compensating voters, but Musk was undeterred.

Four giveaway winners are from Pennsylvania, a crucial swing state, according to a website for the program. So far, the PAC has given away a total of $14 million to voters who signed the petition that states they agree to support the First and Second Amendments. The website indicates that winners will be declared through Nov. 5; as of Friday, the site specified that those winners would be selected in Arizona and Wisconsin, which are also battleground states in the 2024 election. 

Musk and Krasner were initially meant to face off in court on Friday, but the hearing was bumped forward to Thursday. Krasner had asked to move the hearing to a more secure venue following a deluge of threats he said he received.

The DA accused Musk of amplifying inflammatory posts about him and the lawsuit on X, the social media platform Musk owns. In court records, Krasner showed Musks reposts from a user on X who claimed the DA knew his lawsuit wasnt legal but wants a leftist judge to stop it before Election Day. Other users on the platform have threatened to come to Krasners house in masks and harass him. 

Musk was a no-show at the hearing, sending his lawyers in his stead.

Attorneys for Krasner, Musk and America PAC did not immediately respond to HuffPosts request for comment.