Elon Musk is pledging to give away $1 million a day to voters who sign a petition backing the US Constitution.
The billionaire founder of Tesla handed over two $1 million cheques at the weekend, including to a voter in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and a woman wearing a Trump T-shirt.
The stunt is just the latest example of the prominent role the world’s wealthiest man is playing in the 2024 campaign.
Since endorsing Donald Trump in the White House race, Mr Musk has committed at least $75 million for the Republican candidate through his America PAC.
The political action group, set up by the billionaire to support Trump, is playing a major role in helping to register voters in battleground states that could decide the election.
The entrepreneur has now vowed to give $1 million each day until Nov 5’s election to a selected person who has signed an online petition.
However, Democrats have warned that the latest venture to give money to registered voters in the must-win state of Pennsylvania may fall foul of US election law.
The online 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”.
To be eligible to win the money, those signing the petition must be a registered voter and live in one of the seven swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Winner wore Trump T-shirt
The petition also offers $100 to each registered Pennsylvania voter who signs and $100 for referring a registered Pennsylvania voter to sign.
On Saturday, Mr Musk handed over a $1 million cheque to a man named John Dreher in Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania.
On Sunday, he handed a second $1 million cheque to a woman wearing a Trump T-shirt at an event in Pittsburgh in footage shared online by America PAC.
The woman embraced Mr Musk on stage and thanked him for using his “wealth and responsibility” to save free speech. “We just all appreciate it, we really do,” she told him.
Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor, has called for law enforcement to investigate Mr Musk’s drive to give money to registered voters in his state, calling it “deeply concerning”.
Federal law bans anyone from paying or receiving money as an inducement or reward to vote or to register to vote, an offence punishable by prison time.
“Musk obviously has a right to be able to express his views,” Mr Shapiro told NBC’s Meet the Press.
“But when you start flowing this kind of money into politics, I think it raises serious questions that folks may want to take a look at.”
Mr Musk’s lawyers reportedly believe the businessman is in the clear since he is not directly paying voters to register.