Elon Musk claimed that the $1 million checks he has been handing out in Wisconsin ahead of the state's Supreme Court are not meant to sway voters' mind, court records show.
Concretely, his attorneys, answering to a last-minute legal challenge to his initiative, said he was exercising his free speech rights and that the payments seek to "generate a grassroots movement in opposition to activist judges, not to expressly advocate for or against any candidate." Any attempts to challenge the initiative, they said, would violate both the Wisconsin and U.S. constitutions.
Two lower courts refused to hear the challenges levied against Musk's initiative, with the state Supreme Court also rejecting a last-minute attempt by the state's Democratic attorney general from handing out the checks.
Musk gave out $1 million to two Wisconsin voters on Sunday at an event, declaring them spokespeople for his political group. The head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and groups with ties to him have spent some $20 million to help Brad Schimel tilt the court toward a more conservative approach. "I think this will be important for the future of civilization," Musk said on Sunday before some 2,000 people in Green Bay.
Musk's political action committee (PAC) also offered $100 to Wisconsin voters if they sign a petition of the kind. "By signing below, I'm rejecting the actions of activist judges who impose their own views and demanding a judiciary that respects its role — interpreting, not legislating," reads the petition. Those who sign and submit their data will then get the money.
The Democratic candidate, Susan Crawford, has in contrast gotten donations from high-profile figures like George Soros and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
It is not the first time Musk offers voters money to support his agenda. During the 2024 election his PAC handed out several millions of dollars to voters in swing states signing a petition backing the Constitution.
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