For four days, billionaire Elon Musk toured Pennsylvania, lending his support and influence to Republican Donald Trump’s campaign ahead of the November election.
At the rallies, Musk received praise from conservatives while fielding questions on topics such as artificial intelligence, government regulation, sentient robots, and vaccines.
He also echoed several false claims about election fraud, some of which were similar to those made by Trump over the past four years.
Musk, who is the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and owns the X social media platform, also handed out two $1 million checks to randomly selected individuals who had signed his online petition supporting U.S. constitutional rights, specifically freedom of speech and the right to bear arms.
Musk, 53, has a vested interest in Trump’s success, as Trump has promised to appoint him as head of a government efficiency commission if reelected. Musk has pledged that, in this role, he would work to eliminate regulations he sees as harmful to the economy and burdensome to business.
During an event at a nondenominational church in Harrisburg, Musk surprised a crowd of roughly 1,500 by announcing a $1 million giveaway. The first winner, John Dreher, rushed to the stage wearing a red MAGA hat, expressing his long-time admiration for Musk.
The next day, Musk awarded another $1 million to Kristine Fishell, who appeared shocked and grateful as she took the stage in a red Trump T-shirt.
Musk stated that the winners were chosen randomly but had to have signed his petition and be registered voters in battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona.
Musk’s giveaways have raised legal questions, and his embrace of conspiracy theories has also drawn attention. He revived debunked claims about voting machine rigging, mentioning Dominion Voting Systems, which had settled a $787 million lawsuit with Fox News over false allegations.
Dominion responded, pointing out inaccuracies in Musk’s comments, including the fact that their machines are not used in Philadelphia.
Musk also made unsubstantiated claims that Democrats are directing illegal migrants into battleground states to secure future majorities, alleging that Harris would legalize them if elected. The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to these accusations.
During the events, some attendees accepted the idea of a stolen 2020 election as fact. When asked about preventing a recurrence, Musk leaned into the unfounded allegations, saying that aiming for a significant margin of victory could overcome any potential cheating.
Musk, who has millions in government contracts and faces regulatory hurdles, joked about taking a “flamethrower” to unnecessary regulations if appointed to the efficiency commission. He recounted being forced to conduct studies on whether SpaceX rockets would harm sharks or whales when landing in the ocean, describing the requirements as excessive.