Reuters, HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania
Billionaire Elon Musk on Saturday promised to give away US$1 million each day until the US presidential election on Nov. 5 to someone who signs his online petition supporting the US Constitution.
He wasted no time awarding a US$1 million check to an attendee of his event in Pennsylvania aimed at rallying supporters behind former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The winner was John Dreher, event staff said.
Elon Musk speaks at Life Center Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
Photo: AP
“By the way, John had no idea. So anyway, you’re welcome,” the Tesla founder said as he handed Dreher the check.
The money is the latest example of Musk using his wealth to influence the tightly contested presidential race between Trump and his Democratic rival US Vice President Kamala Harris.
Musk started America PAC, a political action organization he founded in support of Trump’s presidential campaign. The group is helping mobilize and register voters in battleground states, but there are signs it is having trouble meeting its goals.
The Harrisburg event is the third in as many days in Pennsylvania, where Musk is painting next month’s election in stark terms and encouraging supporters to vote early and get others to do the same.
On Saturday, he said that if Harris wins, it would be “the last election,” suggesting that the US would no longer exist.
He also said the two assassination attempts against Trump prove he is ruffling feathers and upending the “status quo” in ways Harris would not.
He said that is why no one is trying to kill her.
“Assassinating a puppet is worthless,” Musk said, reiterating an argument he has made on social media.
The petition Musk is asking people to sign reads: “The First and Second Amendments guarantee freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. By signing below, I am pledging my support for the First and Second Amendments.”
Attendees of Saturday’s event had to sign the petition, which allows America PAC to garner contact details for more potential voters that it can work to get to the polls for Trump.
Musk, ranked by Forbes as the world’s richest person, so far has supplied at least US$75 million to America PAC, federal disclosures showed, making the group a crucial part of Trump’s bid to regain the White House.
The CEO of Tesla and Space Exploration Technologies Corp has increasingly supported Republican causes and this year became an outspoken Trump supporter.
Trump in turn has said that if elected he would appoint Musk to head a government efficiency commission.
