Elon Musk could face criminal charges for allegedly violating Wisconsin election law after giving some voters $1 million checks during last year’s closely watched state Supreme Court election.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission, a bipartisan panel made up of three Democrats and three Republicans, found probable cause that Musk violated the state’s election bribery law.
According to a motion approved by the commission, Musk likely broke the law “by making a social media post that offered one million dollars to individuals who voted in the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court Election in order to induce them to vote in that election.”
The commission voted 5-1 in a closed session last Thursday to refer two confidential complaints, filed by voters in Milwaukee and Green Bay, to the Brown County district attorney’s office for possible criminal prosecution.
Under state law, prosecutors have 40 days to notify the commission of their decision on whether to file charges. Brown County District Attorney David Lasee, a Republican, has not publicly commented on the matter.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and founder of SpaceX, spent heavily in an effort to help flip control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. He backed conservative candidate Brad Schimel, a former Wisconsin attorney general, with Musk and organizations he funded spending more than $20 million on the race.
Schimel ultimately lost by 10 percentage points to liberal candidate Susan Crawford, preserving the court’s liberal majority. Overall spending on the contest exceeded $100 million, making it the most expensive judicial election in U.S. history. At the center of the controversy are Musk’s $1 million voter giveaways.
“On Sunday night, I will give a talk in Wisconsin,” Musk wrote on X in late March. “Entrance is limited to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election. I will also personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote. This is super important.” The post has since been deleted.
Musk later clarified in another post that “entrance is limited to those who have signed the petition in opposition to activist judges. I will also hand over checks for a million dollars to 2 people to be spokesmen for the petition.”
On March 30, 2025, shortly before the April 1 election, Musk personally awarded two $1 million checks at a rally in Brown County.
Days earlier, Musk’s America PAC awarded another $1 million check to a Wisconsin voter who signed its petition opposing “activist judges.” The PAC also offered registered voters $100 for signing the petition or referring someone else to sign it.
The commission’s referral is not the only effort seeking to challenge Musk’s political spending.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, filed a lawsuit on March 28, 2025, seeking to stop Musk from distributing the checks. Musk’s attorneys argued that an injunction would “restrain Musk’s political speech and curtail his First Amendment rights,” maintaining that the payments were intended to “generate a grassroots movement in opposition to activist judges, not to expressly advocate for or against any candidate.” State courts ultimately declined to block the giveaways.
Separately, a civil lawsuit filed last June by the government watchdog group Wisconsin Democracy Campaign seeks to permanently prevent Musk from offering similar cash payments to Wisconsin voters in future elections. The lawsuit, which remains pending in Brown County, alleges that the giveaways violated state laws governing election bribery and unauthorized lotteries.
Musk’s America PAC used a similar strategy during the 2024 presidential election, awarding $1 million daily to voters in swing states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments.
While a Pennsylvania judge allowed that giveaway to continue through Election Day, Wisconsin prosecutors must now determine whether the 2025 Supreme Court election cash payments crossed the line into unlawful criminal inducement.
