--- title: "Elon Musk Now Promising Cash to Voters in Desperate Attempt to Win Trump the Election" description: "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.\"" date: "2024-10-07" modified: "2024-10-07" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/desperate-elon-musk-cash-vote-trump" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "donald trump" - "elon musk" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk Now Promising Cash to Voters in Desperate Attempt to Win Trump the Election ![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."]() *\Image: JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images\* ## 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]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()