Allegations of fraud taken to court over Musk's million dollar prize contest

In a courtroom session in Philadelphia on Monday, Elon Musk's attorney, Chris Gober, revealed that the recipients of Musk's $1 million daily prize for voters in swing states are not chosen randomly, contrary to Musk's previous statements when he announced the competition last month.

Gober, representing America PAC, disclosed this information during a hearing regarding the contest's regulations. 

He clarified that the winners are selected based on criteria set by the super PAC, aiming to identify individuals who would serve as effective political spokespersons, rather than through a random lottery process.

Legal experts, speaking to NBC News, expressed that this revelation could have significant legal implications for Musk across various jurisdictions, particularly under laws designed to protect consumers from deceptive practices.

“This is completely illegal,” stated Christopher Peterson, a law professor at the University of Utah specializing in consumer protection. He emphasized that it is unlawful to mislead the public about the nature of a lottery or competition and then manipulate the results to manually select winners. “It’s really not complicated. This is just fraud; blatant and ugly fraud in the public eye,” he added.

Peterson warned that the actions of Musk and his super PAC could potentially lead to both civil liability and criminal charges. America PAC has not commented on these legal analyses or the opinions of other legal experts. Musk has also not responded to requests for comment.