Elon Musk's $1m Wisconsin Voter Giveaway Could Now Become A Criminal Case

Elon Musk could face criminal charges in Wisconsin after a bipartisan elections panel determined last week that the billionaire likely violated state law by handing out $1,000,000 (£785,000) cheques to voters. The Wisconsin Elections Commission referred two confidential complaints to the Brown County district attorney, granting prosecutors 40 days to decide whether to formally accuse the tech executive of election bribery over his conduct during the 2025 state Supreme Court election.

The news came after Musk invested vast resources into a failed effort to capture majority control of the highest court in the crucial battleground state. The SpaceX founder and his affiliated political groups spent $20,000,000 (£15.7 million) to support Republican candidate Brad Schimel, who ultimately suffered a 10-point defeat to Susan Crawford. This financial intervention helped push total spending on the contest past $100,000,000 (£78.5 million), cementing its status as the most expensive judicial race in American history.

Probable Cause For Election Bribery Over Voter Cheques

The path to potential prosecution opened on Thursday when the elections commission voted 5 to 1 in a closed session to escalate the matter. The panel is evenly split between three Democrats and three Republicans and found probable cause that Musk broke Wisconsin law.

Their motion specifically cited a social media post where he offered the $1,000,000 (£785,000) cash reward to people who voted in the Supreme Court election 'in order to induce them to vote in that election'.

Commission spokesperson Emilee Miklas confirmed the referral to the district attorney. The complaints were originally filed by voters in Milwaukee and Green Bay. Green Bay is located in Brown County where Musk physically handed out cheques at a political rally just days before the election.

Three Wisconsin voters received the cheques, including two who collected them in person at the event.

Brown County District Attorney David Lasee, a Republican, has remained silent on the referral and did not immediately return a message seeking comment on Tuesday. Representatives for Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It remains to be seen whether local prosecutors will pursue charges.

Legal Battles Mount as Elon Musk Defends Free Speech

Beyond the threat of criminal prosecution, Musk is facing multiple legal challenges across the state. The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, a government watchdog group, filed a pending lawsuit in Brown County to permanently ban him from ever offering cash payments to voters in the state again.

The group alleges that Musk and two organisations he funds violated prohibitions on vote bribery and ran unauthorised lotteries. They further claim his actions constituted an unlawful conspiracy and a public nuisance.

Wisconsin Democratic attorney general previously sued to stop Musk from physically handing over the cheques to the two voters, but state courts rejected that effort. Musk and his legal team have consistently maintained that the billionaire was simply exercising his free speech rights.

In legal filings from 2025, his lawyers argued that any attempt to restrict the giveaways would violate both the Wisconsin and United States constitutions.

His attorneys wrote in court documents that the payments were 'intended to generate a grassroots movement in opposition to activist judges, not to expressly advocate for or against any candidate'.

Two weeks before the election, America PAC, the political action committee controlled by Musk, also offered $100 (£78) to voters who signed a petition opposing activist judges or referred someone else to sign it.

The Wider Fallout of Elon Musk and His Political Gamble

The strategy was a direct continuation of a playbook Musk tested during the 2024 presidential election. His committee offered a daily prize of a million dollars to voters in Wisconsin and six other battleground states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second amendments.

A judge in Pennsylvania allowed that effort to continue through Election Day after ruling that prosecutors failed to prove the scheme was an illegal lottery.

The Wisconsin judicial race ultimately proved unsuccessful for Musk. A month after the lopsided defeat, Musk publicly announced that he would drastically reduce his spending on political campaigns.

The Democratic victory not only kept liberals in control of the state Supreme Court but actually expanded their majority to 5 to 2 following Chris Taylor winning a seat this year. The ultimate legal cost of that political failure now rests entirely in the hands of a county prosecutor with a 40-day deadline.