Justice Dept. Warns Elon Musk About Payments To PA Voters: Reports

PENNSYLVANIA — Elon Musk and his political action committee have received a written warning from the U.S. Department of Justice that may be violating the law by providing payments to voters, according to multiple reports.

The letter, first reported by 24 Sight News and then confirmed by CNN and Politico, came from the head of the DOJ's election crimes branch, Robert Heberle.

Musk, his PAC, and the DOJ have all remained quiet on the letter publicly.

Related: Elon Musk Pays 3rd PA Voter $1M For Signing Petition Ahead Of Election

Musk's PAC is giving away $1 million each day to the winner of a lottery drawn from registered voters in swing states who agree to sign a pledge to support the first and second amendments to the Constitution. It's the latest effort by the billionaire owner of Space X and Tesla to leverage his wealth and influence to re-elect former President Donald Trump.

U.S. election code states "Whoever...pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for registration to vote or for voting shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both…"

Still, though the entirety of the letter has not been published, the wording seemed to suggest the DOJ believed it was a possibility that Musk was violating the law, not that he had certainly already done so.

The letter also did not state any legal action was forthcoming, but instead laid out the $10,000 fine and five year imprisonment punishment for violating this law.

While the PAC originally described the payments as an award, that wording changed days ago, as they now call their winners "spokespersons," or employees. It's unclear if this change in semantics was made out of legal concern.

Since nothing like this has ever been done, it's left some legal scholars scratching their heads as to exactly how Musk's actions should be interpreted.

Musk has also pledged $47 to supporters for each citizen they register to vote.