Elon Musk’s America PAC didn’t keep its promise to pay swing state voters who signed a pro-Trump petition ahead of the 2024 election, and who enlisted others to do the same, a new lawsuit alleges.
The case, a proposed national class action suit, was filed within the last week in a federal court in the Eastern district of Pennsylvania, a state that was viewed as critical to Donald Trump’s effort to return to the White House.
A related case was filed in April that only applied to residents of Pennsylvania.
Lead plaintiffs are three people who participated in the America PAC initiative while they were living in Pennsylvania, Nevada and Georgia. One formally worked as a canvasser for America PAC in Michigan and in Georgia, the complaint says.
In his efforts to propel Trump to victory, Musk spent around $300 million while also stumping at rallies and online for his preferred candidate. Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, had offered payments — initially $47 and later $100 — to those who signed a petition supporting his pro-Trump PAC. Additional payments were offered for each eligible person they referred who signed the petition.
Musk said the petitions showed support for the First Amendment and Second Amendment. The PAC viewed the awards as a way to drive voter registration and turnout in swing states.
The complaint says the plaintiffs are “in communication with numerous others who referred voters to sign the America PAC petition, who are likewise frustrated that they did not receive full payments for their referrals.” The group, represented by the law firm Lichten & Liss-Riordan, expects there to be “more than 100 Class Members,” with payments owed them “expected to exceed $5,000,000,” the filing says….