Elon Musk was sued in a proposed class action on Tuesday by registered voters who signed his petition to support the constitution for a chance to win his $1m-a-day giveaway, and now claim it was a fraud.
The complaint, filed by the Arizona resident Jacqueline McAferty in federal court, said Musk and his America Pac organization falsely induced voters to sign a petition by claiming they would choose winners by chance. In fact, members of the Pac selected the winners, the suit alleges. Musk’s own attorneys said in court that the sweepstakes’ results were not random; they disclosed that the winners were chosen to be spokespeople for the group.
“The $1m recipients are not chosen by chance,” Chris Gober, a lawyer for Musk, said during a hearing in Pennsylvania. “We know exactly who will be announced as the $1m recipient today and tomorrow.” Musk, meanwhile, said at a campaign rally that his Pac would be “awarding $1m randomly to people who have signed the petition”.
