Elon Musk is suspected of possibly bribing voters in the U.S. — Associated Press
A bipartisan commission in the U.S. has concluded that Elon Musk may have violated Wisconsin’s election laws. The case involves the distribution of $1 million in checks to voters during the campaign leading up to the 2025 state Supreme Court election.
Last week, the Wisconsin State Election Commission referred two complaints to the Brown County District Attorney’s Office, which may decide to file criminal charges for violating state laws regarding voter bribery. Prosecutors have 40 days to respond to the commission’s report.
Musk, the founder of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla, was deeply involved in efforts to shift the balance of power on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which is considered one of the key battleground states in the election.
The tech mogul and the groups he supported spent at least $20 million on the Republican-backed candidate, Brad Schimmel. However, he lost by a margin of 10 percentage points to the Democratic-backed candidate, Susan Crawford.
A month after the crushing defeat, Musk announced that he would spend significantly less on political campaigns in the future. Spending on this election exceeded $100 million, making it the most expensive judicial election in U.S. history.
The complaints, which are confidential under state law, were filed by voters from Milwaukee and Green Bay, located in Brown County.
As noted in the report, Musk handed out checks at a rally in that city a few days before the election.
The Wisconsin State Election Commission, which consists of three Democrats and three Republicans, voted 5-1 in a closed-door meeting on Thursday to refer the complaints to the district attorney, commission spokeswoman Emily Miklas said.
Source: Associated Press
See also:
Musk sharply criticized Altman amid Apple’s lawsuit against OpenAI.
Melania Trump demanded that Elon Musk not be allowed to spend the night at the White House.
Musk is preparing Starlink to enter the mobile communications market.
