Wisconsin panel sends Musk voter-payment complaints to prosecutor
The state elections commission found probable cause that Elon Musk broke Wisconsin’s election bribery law with $1 million offers to voters.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
Wisconsin election officials have referred complaints over Elon Musk’s $1 million voter payments to a county prosecutor, opening the door to possible criminal charges. The Wisconsin Elections Commission found probable cause that Musk violated the state’s election bribery law, according to a commission motion described by spokesperson Emilee Miklas.
The commission sent two complaints last week to the Brown County district attorney’s office, Miklas said. Prosecutors have 40 days to report back to the commission on whether they will pursue the matter.
The complaints concern Musk’s actions during the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court race, according to the commission. Musk, the founder of SpaceX and chief executive of Tesla, backed Republican-supported candidate Brad Schimel in a contest that drew national attention because it could affect control of the state’s highest court.
Commission cites probable cause
The Wisconsin Elections Commission has three Democratic members and three Republican members. Miklas said the panel voted 5-1 in a closed session Thursday to send the complaints to Brown County District Attorney David Lasee, a Republican.
The commission’s approved motion said Musk appeared to violate Wisconsin law by posting on social media that he would offer $1 million to people who voted in the Supreme Court election to encourage them to vote, according to the commission account.
The complaints are confidential under Wisconsin law, according to the commission. They were filed by voters in Milwaukee and Green Bay, the latter of which is in Brown County, where Musk appeared at a rally shortly before the election.
Lasee did not immediately return a message seeking comment Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. Spokespeople for Musk also did not immediately respond to requests for comment, the AP reported.
Payments came during high-cost court race
Musk gave $1 million checks to three Wisconsin voters, including two who received them in person at the Green Bay event, according to the AP. Two weeks before the election, Musk’s America PAC offered $100 to voters who signed a petition opposing “activist judges” or referred another person to sign it.
Musk and groups he supported spent at least $20 million to help Schimel, according to the AP. Schimel lost by 10 percentage points to Susan Crawford, the candidate backed by Democrats.
Overall spending in the race exceeded $100 million, making it the most expensive judicial election in U.S. history, according to the AP. A month after the defeat, Musk said he would spend far less on political campaigns.
Crawford’s victory kept liberals in control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Their majority later expanded to 5-2 after Democratic-backed candidate Chris Taylor won another race, according to the AP.
Earlier legal challenges failed
Wisconsin’s Democratic attorney general tried in 2025 to stop Musk from handing checks to two voters, but state courts rejected that effort, according to the AP. Musk’s lawyers argued in court filings that the payments were protected political speech under the Wisconsin and U.S. constitutions.
His attorneys also said the giveaways were meant to spur a grassroots campaign against activist judges rather than directly support or oppose a candidate, according to those filings.
Musk’s spending in the race has also prompted a pending lawsuit in Brown County from the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, a government watchdog group. The group is seeking to bar Musk from offering cash payments in Wisconsin again and alleges that Musk and two groups he funds violated vote-bribery and lottery laws, according to the AP.
Musk’s political action committee used a similar approach before the 2024 presidential election, offering $1 million a day to voters in Wisconsin and six other battleground states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second amendments. A Pennsylvania judge allowed that effort to continue through Election Day after finding prosecutors had not shown it was an illegal lottery, according to the AP.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.