March 31, 2025
Musk handed out two hefty checks to voters who allegedly signed a petition to stop “activist” judges.
BBC reports that billionaire tech guru Elon Musk gave away $1 million checks to Wisconsin voters ahead of the state’s high-profile Supreme Court election despite calls from the attorney general to stop it.
Musk announced the prize in late March 2025 ahead of Wisconsin’s hot-ticket Supreme Court election on Tuesday, April 1. Just hours before, the state’s Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul argued in a lawsuit that the giveaway violated a state law banning gifts in exchange for votes. However, a Pennsylvania judge ruled the giveaway was legal, claiming prosecutors failed to prove it was an unlawful lottery.
During the rally, held March 30, Musk said, “We just want judges to be judges,” before handing out two hefty checks to voters who allegedly signed a petition to stop “activist” judges. The race could flip control of the state’s supreme court to Republicans and has become the most expensive judicial election in American history.
According to the Washington Post, with a price tag exceeding $90 million, conservative candidate Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel, supported by President Donald Trump and the DOGE leader, is running against Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, who has been endorsed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s liberal justices.
The winner will replace liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, who is retiring at the end of her term.
Despite Musk donating $14 million to Schimel’s campaign, the justice has seemingly attempted to cut ties with the Tesla owner, claiming he had no plans to be at the rally. “I have no idea what he’s doing. I have no idea what this rally is,” Schimel said.
Kaul wasn’t the only one who protested the giveaway. Wisconsin residents rallied outside the Green Bay town hall, protesting his appearance and the contest.
As clips of the rally started to circulate on social media, the $1 million check recipients were unveiled, one allegedly being Nicholas Jacobs. A News Nation political analyst posted a photo of Musk and the young man, claiming that Jacobs resembles the chairman of the Wisconsin College Republicans, who has the same name.
The other check went to graphic designer Ekaterina Diestler. This is not the first time the SpaceX owner got away with wealthy giveaways. In 2024, he offered a cash prize of $1M a day to voters in seven battleground states, including Wisconsin, if they signed a petition supporting First and Second Amendment rights.
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