Key facts
- A Wisconsin elections panel found Elon Musk likely violated state election bribery laws.
- Musk distributed $1 million checks to voters before the 2025 state Supreme Court election.
- The panel voted to send two complaints against Musk to the Brown County district attorney.
- The complaints allege violations of Wisconsin's law against offering anything of value to induce a voter.
- Musk's Super Pac previously offered $100 to voters for signing petitions related to judicial issues and constitutional amendments.
A bipartisan Wisconsin elections panel has determined that billionaire Elon Musk likely violated state election bribery laws through his distribution of $1 million checks to voters prior to the 2025 state Supreme Court election. The commission, composed of three Democrats and three Republicans, voted 5-1 to forward two complaints against Musk to the Brown County district attorney.
Commission spokesperson Emilee Miklas stated that the panel found probable cause that the cash handouts contravened Wisconsin's election bribery statutes. These laws prohibit offering or giving anything of value to an elector to induce their vote. The complaints were initiated by voters from Milwaukee and Green Bay.
Three Wisconsin voters reportedly received checks from Musk, with two receiving them in person at a Green Bay rally. An attempt by Wisconsin's Democratic attorney general to halt the distribution minutes before the rally was unanimously rejected by the state Supreme Court.
In a previous election last year, Musk and affiliated groups reportedly spent over $20 million to support conservative candidate Brad Schimel, who lost to Democratic-backed Susan Crawford by 10 percentage points. Musk's Super Pac, America Pac, had also offered $100 to voters for signing petitions opposing "activist judges" or referring others to do so. Musk employed a similar strategy during the 2024 presidential election cycle, with his Super Pac offering daily $1 million rewards to voters in battleground states for signing petitions supporting the first and second amendments.