PHILADELPHIA (AP) 鈥� The that 's political action committee is hosting in swing states can continue through Tuesday鈥檚 presidential election, a Pennsylvania judge ruled Monday.
Common Pleas Court Judge Angelo Foglietta 鈥� ruling after Musk鈥檚 lawyers said the winners are paid spokespeople and not chosen by chance 鈥� did not immediately explain his reasoning.
District Attorney Larry Krasner, a Democrat, had called the process a scam 鈥渄esigned to actually influence a national election鈥� and asked that it be shut down.
Musk lawyer Chris Gober said the final two recipients before Tuesday's presidential election will be in Arizona on Monday and Michigan on Tuesday.
鈥淭he $1 million recipients are not chosen by chance," Gober said Monday. 鈥淲e know exactly who will be announced as the $1 million recipient today and tomorrow.鈥�
Chris Young, the director and treasurer of , testified that the recipients are vetted ahead of time, to 鈥渇eel out their personality, (and) make sure they were someone whose values aligned鈥� with the group.
Musk鈥檚 lawyers, defending the effort, called it 鈥渃ore political speech鈥� given that participants sign a petition endorsing the U.S. Constitution. They also said Krasner's bid to shut it down under Pennsylvania law was moot because there would be no more Pennsylvania winners before the program ends Tuesday.
Krasner believes the giveaways violates state election law and contradict during an appearance with 's campaign in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 19: 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to be awarding a million dollars randomly to people who have signed the petition every day from now until the election,鈥� Musk vowed.
Young also acknowledged that the PAC made the recipients sign nondisclosure agreements.
鈥淭hey couldn鈥檛 really reveal the truth about how they got the money, right?鈥� Summers asked.
鈥淪ounds right,鈥� Young said.
In an Oct. 20 social media post shown in court, Musk said anyone signing the petition had 鈥渁 daily chance of winning $1M!鈥�
Summers grilled him on Musk's use of both the words 鈥渃hance鈥� and 鈥渞andomly," prompting Young to concede the latter was not 鈥渢he word I would have selected.鈥�
Young said the winners knew they would be called on stage but not specifically that they would win the money.
Musk did not attend the hearing. He has committed to help Trump and other Republicans win in November.
鈥淭his was all a political marketing masquerading as a lottery,鈥� Krasner testified Monday. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what it is. A grift.鈥�
Lawyers for Musk and the PAC said they do not plan to extend the lottery beyond Tuesday. Krasner said the first three winners, starting on Oct. 19, came from Pennsylvania in the days leading up to the state's Oct. 21 voter registration deadline.
Other winners came from the battleground states of Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Michigan. It's not clear if anyone has yet received the money. The PAC pledged they would get it by Nov. 30, according to an exhibit shown in court.
More than 1 million people from the seven states have registered for the sweepstakes by signing a petition saying they support the right to free speech and to bear arms, the first two amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Krasner questioned how the PAC might use their data, which it will have on hand well past the election.
鈥淭hey were scammed for their information,鈥� Krasner said. 鈥淚t has almost unlimited use.鈥�
Krasner's team called Musk 鈥渢he heartbeat of America PAC,鈥� and the person announcing the winners and presenting the checks.
鈥淗e was the one who presented the checks, albeit large cardboard checks. We don鈥檛 really know if there are any real checks,鈥� Summers said.
Foglietta presided over the case at Philadelphia City Hall after Musk and the PAC lost an effort to move it to federal court.
Krasner has said he could still consider criminal charges, as he鈥檚 tasked with protecting both lotteries and the integrity of elections.
Pennsylvania remains a key battleground state with 19 electoral votes and both Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris have repeatedly visited the state, including stops planned Monday in .
Krasner 鈥� who noted that he has long driven a Tesla 鈥� said he could also seek civil damages for the Pennsylvania registrants. Musk is the CEO and largest shareholder of . He also owns the social media platform X, where America PAC has published posts on the sweepstakes, and the rocket ship maker .
Maryclaire Dale, The Associated Press
