Elon Musk ordered to appear in court to defend his $1m election giveaway

World’s richest man told to be present on Thursday morning but unclear if he will attend.

Elon Musk has been ordered to appear in court to respond to a lawsuit over $1m payments made by the billionaire’s political campaign group to voters in the US election’s battleground states.

Earlier this month, Musk’s campaign group, America PAC, started making the payments in what critics said was an improper and potentially illegal effort to drive up support and boost turnout for former President Donald Trump, who the 53-year-old founder of companies such as Tesla and SpaceX is supporting.

On Monday, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, a Democrat, filed a suit to try and stop the America PAC sweepstakes, which is set to run up until Election Day.

The sweepstakes are open to any registered voter in battleground states who agrees to sign a petition supporting the Constitution.

But Krasner has argued the effort requires people to give up their personal information.

“In other words, America PAC and Musk are lulling Philadelphia citizens – and others in the Commonwealth [and other swing states in the upcoming election] – to give up their personal identifying information and make a political pledge in exchange for the chance to win $1 million,” says the lawsuit.

It adds: “It is indisputably an unlawful lottery.”

On Wednesday, Philadelphia Judge Angelo Foglietta ordered all parties – including Musk- to attend a hearing on the matter at 10am on Thursday.

“It is further ordered that all parties must be present at the time of the hearing,” the judge wrote.

Will Musk follow judge’s order?

It remains unclear, however, whether the world’s richest man will appear.

The Associated Press said that Matthew Haverstick, one of several lawyers representing the defendants, declined to say if Musk would attend the hearing.

Musk announced he was supporting Trump’s bid for a second term in July after the former president survived an assassination attempt at an election rally in Pennsylvania.

“I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” Musk wrote in a post on his social platform X, which he bought in 2022.

Since then, he has used the platform and his wealth to become one of Trump’s most powerful and influential supporters.

He has committed more than $70m to the political action committee to help Trump and other Republicans win in November. The lawsuit, a copy of which was seen by Al Jazeera, claims America PAC spent more than $133m to support Republican candidates.

America PAC has given away many millions to voters in the seven crucial swing states that will likely determine the winner of the election.

The court hearing comes less than a week before the November 5 presidential election, with Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican Trump campaigning hard in a race that experts say is too close to call.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies