Is Musk’s $1 million/day giveaway legal?

For some swing-state voters, this election has turned into an episode of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, announced in a town hall in Pennsylvania on Saturday that, until the November election, he’ll be giving away $1 million/day to a random individual in a swing state who signs his PAC’s online petition (and also awarded the giveaway’s first check).

• The petition 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."
• Petition-signers have to provide contact details, potentially allowing AmericaPAC – which was created by Musk and is doing the bulk of Donald Trump’s ground game operation in battleground states – to contact them about their vote.
• Per Musk, the goal is to get 1 million–2 million voters in battleground states to sign the petition.

Mo’ money moves: Musk also announced he’s increasing the reward for referring registered Pennsylvania voters to sign the petition from $47 to $100.

Is all this legal?

While it’s illegal to pay, offer to pay, or accept payment for voting or registering to vote – Musk’s strategy could fall under a loophole in US election law because no-one is being directly paid to vote (just sign a petition), the BBC reports.

On the flip side: Some, like prominent election law expert Rick Hasen, say the offer is “clearly illegal” since only a certain portion of the populace is eligible (registered voters in battleground states).