Elon Musk Offers $1,000 to Outside Agitators in Latest Vote-Buying Scheme

Elon Musk debuted a new financial incentive on Sunday as part of his scheme to buy votes for the state Supreme Court election in Wisconsin. And it’s particularly ironic since the Tesla CEO accuses shadowy left-wing billionaires of funding protesters against him and buying elections. But don’t expect to actually get any money if you follow through on what the billionaire oligarch is telling people to do.

Musk says anyone can be paid $20 per photo for getting people in Wisconsin to pose for a picture holding an image of conservative judge Brad Schimel, who’s running against liberal Judge Susan Crawford. People who participate don’t even need to be residents of Wisconsin to get the money, according to Musk. However, the terms and conditions listed on Musk’s website appear to contradict that claim.

Musk donned a cheesehead hat at a rally Sunday night in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he handed out two $1 million checks and urged people to vote for the MAGA-aligned Judge Schimel in the election Tuesday. The $1 million giveaways are obviously illegal, but that hasn’t stopped the billionaire. The Wisconsin Attorney General sued Friday to stop Musk’s giveaways for clearly violating anti-bribery laws, but an appellate court denied the request Saturday to stop the scheme. Then on Sunday, shortly before Musk took the stage in Green Bay, the state Supreme Court denied a request to hear the case.

Musk, who’s poured over $20 million into the Wisconsin election through entities like America PAC, said Sunday that people could become so-called “block captains,” to spread the word about voting for Judge Schimel, following up with a tweet later that night about the offer.

The billionaire described it as easy money, explaining that it was open to anyone, whether they lived in the state of Wisconsin or not. All they need to do is get people to “hold a picture” of Judge Schimel while giving a thumbs up. “You could make over $1000 in one day just by getting out the vote in Wisconsin!” Musk wrote Sunday on X.

“Easiest money you ever made!” Musk wrote on X. “You don’t even need to be from Wisconsin, you just need to get people in the state to hold a picture of @TeamSchimel can be on a phone/device or paper) in one hand and go thumbs up with the other hand. Every time you do that you get $20 and they get $20. The goal is to build awareness about the election tomorrow, so this offer applies to today and tomorrow.”

The phrase “today and tomorrow” refers to Monday and Tuesday.

But if you actually read the terms and conditions on America PAC’s website, it seems pretty clear that being a “block captain” is only open to registered voters in Wisconsin (emphasis ours):

To be eligible to be an approved Block Captain, the person must be a registered voter in Wisconsin and submit the requested information, including, but not limited to, an email address and cell phone number. Notwithstanding the foregoing, applying to be a Block Captain and submitting the required information does not grant any person the right to be a Block Captain or create any contractual obligations. America PAC, in its sole discretion, has the authority to approve or deny a person’s application to be a Block Captain.

It’s not clear why Musk said that anyone could get paid, even if they don’t live in Wisconsin. But the billionaire does have a history of blatantly lying about things that are easy to look up. The terms on America PAC’s website, which contain spelling errors, are also confusing when it comes to how someone might be able to get over $1,000. Lines like “each household is limited to receiving one $20” don’t provide any clarity on what limitations exist for payment (emphasis ours):

For payments being made for submitting pictures supportive of Brad Schimel (a “Pro-Schimel Photo”), the Wisconsin resident must be holding a picture of Brad Schimel in one hand and give the “thumbs-up” sign with their other hand. Each household is limited to receiving one $20. For example, if two people in the same household submit Pro-Schimel Photos, America PAC will only pay $20 (not $40) for those submissions. If Block Captain submits Pro-Schimel Photos from 100 households, they will be desigated [sic] a “Block General” and receive an additional $200 payment. America PAC will not pay a Block Captain for submitting Pro-Schimel Photos from a household that has already submitted a Pro-Schimel Photo. All Pro-Schimel Photos must be submitted by 8pm CT on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in order to be eligible for payment.

The website also explains that photos taken near polling booths will also be eligible for compensation, though that also raises a host of thorny legal questions. Electioneering is illegal within 100 feet of a polling place in Wisconsin.

Will anyone see money from this scheme? It’s entirely possible. But even if people get paid, America PAC wants everybody to know that there are no guarantees and you shouldn’t expect anything quickly (emphasis ours):

America PAC makes no warranties, whether express or implied, regarding any specific timeframe in which payments for the Block Captain Program will be issued. America PAC will make its best efforts to promptly issue payments to all Participants whom it determines are eligible to receive payment. Partial payments may be made on a rolling basis. Due to a high participation rate in the Block Captain Program, Participants should not necessarily expect to receive incentive payments within a month or even two months. America PAC thanks Participants in advance for their patience.

The $1 million giveaways on Sunday went to people who signed a petition against “activist” judges, though it’s not clear how they were ultimately chosen. Musk executed a similar scheme in swing states leading up to the 2024 presidential election, which was also challenged in court. Prosecutors in Philadelphia argued that Musk was obviously breaking the law by offering people money to vote, but the state court allowed it to continue and then the entire matter was dropped after the election.

One of the recipients of the $1 million checks on Sunday, Ekaterina Deistler, spoke in a video to hype up the experience, though $1 million checks aren’t available anymore.

The other recipient of the $1 million check on Sunday was identified as Nicholas Jacobs, who appears to be the chairman of the Wisconsin College Republicans, according to his X account. Again, it’s not clear how these two people were chosen, but they’re identified as spokespeople for America PAC, not sweepstakes winners.

Musk spent over $250 million in the 2024 presidential election to elect Donald Trump, money that’s paid off handsomely as he’s now a de facto co-president, running a group called DOGE that’s currently dismantling the U.S. federal government. But Musk needs control at the state level as well if he wants to truly transform the country from the ground up into a fascist dictatorship. And Wisconsin will be a test of whether he can pull it off.

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