Elon Musk Now Promising Cash to Voters in Desperate Attempt to Win Trump the Election

How low is Musk willing to go?

Swing for Cash

In a fascinating development for electoral politics in the United States, multi-hyphenate CEO and extreme right-wing political activist Elon Musk has resorted to promising cash to those willing to get others to sign a petition — highlighting the extent to which he's willing to go to help former president Donald Trump get reelected next month.

In a Sunday tweet, Musk promised to give out $47 to "every person you refer to sign the petition if they’re in a swing state."

The petition was set up by Musk's pro-Trump political action committee America PAC, with the goal of getting one million signatures.

But whether anybody will ever receive that cash handout remains dubious at best.

"It’s clearly just data collection but it’s interesting that it’s at such a high price point," Gizmodo tech reporter Matt Novak wrote in a post on Bluesky. "I wonder if they’ll even pay out. I assume there are huge loopholes that will make sure they don’t have to."

PAC Rat

In July, the Wall Street Journal reported that Musk had been pledging roughly $45 million per month to the PAC. While Musk initially denied the report, it quickly became clear that the billionaire was digging deep into his own pockets to support Trump's election campaign.

Musk has fully outed himself as Trump's number one fan, most recently appearing on stage next to the former reality TV host, and quite literally jumping for joy.

It remains to be seen how America PAC's blatant attempt at an action nearly tantamount to buying votes will turn out. That said, it's unlikely to convince anybody to magically change their political ideology this late in the race — and that's without mentioning America PAC's chaotic past.

In August, news emerged that Musk had fired almost all of the PAC's vendors, only to rehire one of them — the kind of shambolic mismanagement Musk has become known for.

Last month, the Associated Press reported that canvassers had yet to make any significant showing in battleground states, with activists in the field noting that they had no idea what the PAC was doing.

As Redditors were quick to point out, by paying people to refer others to sign a petition, the PAC is likely skirting federal laws that forbid paying people to vote. Whether anybody will ever see any cash for being part of the committee's dubious scheme remains to be seen, though one aspect of all this has become increasingly (if not crystal) clear: Elon Musk's palpable sense of desperation about the upcoming presidential election — that one, at least, you can definitely take to the bank.

More on Musk: Top Tesla Exec Abandons Ship Just Days Before Major "Robotaxi" Event