Elon Musk Ordered to Testify in Lawsuits Over US Election Cash Giveaway

Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has been ordered by a US federal judge to provide sworn testimony in two class-action lawsuits related to a cash giveaway programme run ahead of the 2024 US presidential election. The lawsuits accuse Musk and his political committee, America PAC, of misleading voters in seven swing states through a programme offering $1 million per day to individuals who signed a petition supporting the US Constitution. Plaintiffs Joy Harvick and Jacqueline McAferty from Arizona claim the programme was promoted as a random draw, but allege participants did not have an equal chance of winning. The lawsuits contend that 18 recipients were selected for their potential to be effective spokespersons for America PAC, rather than through a random process as publicly announced. US Magistrate Judge Susan Hightower in Austin, Texas, ruled that one of the fraud-related lawsuits may proceed, while recommending the dismissal of a breach of contract claim due to insufficient legal grounds. Hightower noted it remains to be proven whether Musk acted recklessly in stating winners would be chosen ‘randomly’. The judge also cited testimony from America PAC Director Christopher Young, who in a February 2026 deposition expressed surprise at Musk’s characterisation of the selection mechanism, stating it was not how the programme was discussed with legal counsel. The case will now be reviewed by US District Judge Robert Pitman, who will decide on the recommendation and the fate of the second lawsuit filed by Harvick. Neither Musk’s representatives nor the plaintiffs’ lawyers have issued an official response to the latest ruling. Separately, Forbes declared Musk the world’s first trillionaire after SpaceX shares began trading on the Nasdaq at $150 per share, giving the company a market capitalisation of nearly $2 trillion. Forbes estimated the IPO increased Musk’s net worth to $1.1 trillion on Friday morning, following a $188 billion rise to approximately $982 billion the previous evening when SpaceX priced its IPO at $135 per share. Musk first appeared on the Forbes World’s Billionaires list in 2012 with an estimated fortune of $2 billion, ranking 634th globally, and took just nine years to become the world’s richest person in January 2021 as Tesla’s stock surged past Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.