MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Billionaire Elon Musk likely broke Wisconsin law when he handed out $1 million checks to voters in the 2025 state Supreme Court election, a bipartisan panel has found.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission last week referred two complaints to the Brown County district attorney’s office, which can choose to bring criminal charges over violating the state law against election bribery. Prosecutors have 40 days to report back to the commission.
Musk, the founder of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla, was deeply involved in the effort to flip majority control of the highest court in battleground Wisconsin.
The tech titan and groups he supported spent at least $20 million on the candidate backed by Republicans, Brad Schimel. However, he lost by 10 percentage points to Democratic-backed candidate Susan Crawford.
A month after the lopsided loss, Musk announced that he would be spending far less on political campaigns. Spending on the election topped $100 million, making it the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history.
Prosecutors will decide if Musk should be charged over the $1 million checks
The complaints, which are confidential under state law, were brought by voters in Milwaukee and Green Bay, which is in Brown County. Musk handed out checks at a rally there just days before the election.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission, consisting of three Democrats and three Republicans, voted 5-1 in closed session on Thursday to refer the complaints to the district attorney, the commission’s spokesperson Emilee Miklas said.
Brown County District Attorney David Lasee, a Republican, did not immediately return a message seeking comment Tuesday.
The motion approved by the elections commission said it found probable cause that Musk broke Wisconsin law by making a social media post offering $1 million to people who voted in the Supreme Court election “in order to induce them to vote in that election.”
78 Comments
el_twitto@lemmy.zip · 164 pts · 29d
How about we arrest and charge that motherfucker?
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 54 pts · 29d
Can't do that. It would be bad for business.
Solrac@lemmy.world · 19 pts · 29d
Crooks who do tyranny, specially publicly, have no reason to be allowed to continue doing business
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 29d
Look what happened when Bear Sterns stopped doing business
Bluescluestoothpaste@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 27d
That's the thing we're all fighting for thousands to pay rent and buy food. Some bastard who steals $1M literally gets someone killed, that's like 20 people getting laid off, 20 households that wont have money for medicine housing and food, but the rich asshole gets a slap on the wrist because he didn't do anything violent with his body. He just clicked a button and stole millions, but that's way more damaging to society and kills people in a way that a shoplifter would never be able to even if they shoplifted every single day.
MML@sh.itjust.works · 10 pts · 29d
I mean isn't it kinda a miracle his businesses still operate, one could argue it's actually good for business.
YoureHotCupCake@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 5 pts · 29d
The fact these companies operate is because of their workers and despite their leader being the biggest dipshit around forcing stupid decisions on them.
A_norny_mousse@piefed.zip · 1 pts · 29d
Bad for whose business... good for other business.
neuracnu@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 20 pts · 29d
Consequences in 1… 2… 2 and a half…
BarnWolf@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 29d
Unfortunately, the ones that are supposed to do that, all work with him. I mean it's so obviously clear at this point. So many things have happened in this past little while that should have been instant arrest or investigations, or you know, just plain people getting fired or removal from offices. But it's clear, they all work together.
I guess you could say, the justice system overwhelmingly (not everyone but most) works for the executive branch now. It bows down like a little bitch and licks the executive branch boots.
artyom@piefed.social · -2 pts · 29d
It always has worked for the executive branch. The difference is the executive branch used to pretend to be impartial and find the best person for the job, and leave them alone to do it. These days the corruption is expected, and even desired, by a large portion of the American population.
Bluescluestoothpaste@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 27d
Exactly trump voters all have their little scams going that's why they vote for him, they're stealing too.
Naich@piefed.world · 7 pts · 29d
Are you new to this planet?
A_norny_mousse@piefed.zip · 1 pts · 29d
One can wish
RidderSport@feddit.org · 4 pts · 29d
I have different kind of french idea, but I won't elaborate on that
SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 4 pts · 29d
But then who would create jobs?!
/s
ShredderFeeder@shredderfood.net · 80 pts · 29d
Until he gets arrested, it's meaningless.
Mog_fanatic@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 29d
But man you should see those strongly worded emails. I mean they are enough to make you really think for a few seconds before hitting delete.
valar@lemmy.ca · 62 pts · 29d
No shit
Fishnoodle@lemmy.world · 48 pts · 29d
He did. They should make his punishment consist primarily of public service. Like 20,000 hours that has to be completed within 4 years.
His money is endless, but not his time.
If he has to spend eight hours a day 5 days a week for the next 4 years picking up trash along the side of the road, he's not going to have time to try to interfere with elections.
And he may actually learn a lesson about hard work. That's what justice is supposed to look like.
otacon239@lemmy.world · 17 pts · 29d
Cruel and unusual! Working a real labor job? He’d be dead within a week!
mrmisses@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 29d
So win win then
pivot_root@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 29d
That still leaves the weekend and the remaining 16 hours a day. You would think that's not enough time to do anything extracurricular, but you might be surprised how much sleep can be skipped during a drug-fueled manic episode.
chiliedogg@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 27d
Fine him equal to the money he spent on the election. And make him pay it back by working minimum wage with no access to his wealth until he's paid his debts.
Minimum wage would skyrocket.
MisterFrog@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 29d
I like this, but partially because the maths makes it even worse than you stated:
20,000 h / (365.25 d * 4) ≈ 13.7 hrs/day
Sounds fair to me.
huppakee@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 29d
His time is not endless?? This really is the worst timeline
tacoplease@lemmy.world · 45 pts · 29d
Likely?
It's called buying votes.
lemmelemmy@feddit.org · 14 pts · 29d
No one has any spine anymore
Tiral@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 28d
No kidding, I like how they say "broke the law" like anything is going to happen.
Fedizen@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 27d
I mean the cost benefit here to wisconsin is low so I see why politicians would be afraid to prosecute the world's richest man who is backed by the US government and is also one of the largest election donors in the country. Why should they alone fall on what will inevitably be a sword.
On the other hand unless his businesses are in your state its probably going to benefit you in the long run to prosecute an out of state billionaire running amok in your elections.
Leviathan@lemmy.world · 39 pts · 29d
They're so terrified of setting the precedent of sending a rich person to prison. If a crime of this magnitude was committed by a poor person they would be disappeared for eternity.
BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today · 15 pts · 28d
The amount of damage DOGE did, just so he could shut down all the investigations into his companies, is incalculable. He belongs in prison for the rest of his life.
Leviathan@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 28d
Probably worse if we're honest.
BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 27d
I won't get in the way, if they want to drop him in the middle of a refugee zone, and let him explain himself.
DJKJuicy@sh.itjust.works · 28 pts · 28d
So it turns out that all this time a law is only really a law if it's enforced. Most of my life I assumed laws were laws when they became laws. But nope, the past few years have demonstrated that my assumption was false.
So no, he didn't break any Wisconsin laws because they ain't gonna do shit.
nosuchanon@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 27d
It depends how rich and well connected you are. Always has.
joeljoelle@piefed.blahaj.zone · 3 pts · 27d
untrue we'll probably build him a data center the way they are tanking this state, I hope we have a massive swing next election because we need to clean the whole state house from the influences of paul ryan, robin vos, scott walker and ron fucking jonson and all the rest of those who've sold out our state for their own enrichment
WesternInfidels@feddit.online · 26 pts · 29d
Golly, I wonder what Dear Leader would say about that?
Thebeardedsinglemalt@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 29d
Everything is illegal unless they do it
A_norny_mousse@piefed.zip · 5 pts · 29d
Did he really post that? And unironically I presume - blaming "The Left". He's the grand master of DARVO.
joeljoelle@piefed.blahaj.zone · 25 pts · 29d
Except that's not how it went down, it wasn't simply trying to get people to vote, you had to sign a form of intent saying you would vote for their candidate before you would be eligible for whatever piddly shit they were bribing people with, it should absolutely be an open and shut case in any just world.. but
lobut@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 29d
Not just that, I think he didn't even give it to the people that entered but pre-chose people. Fucked up for multiple reasons.
prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 3 pts · 27d
If a foreign billionaire (trillionaire now) ever did this for a Democrat candidate, they would have dismantled the entire party permanently.
amoogus@lemmy.ml · 23 pts · 29d
A_norny_mousse@piefed.zip · 23 pts · 29d
Mee-lon borke the law countless times. The president of the us of na broke the law countless times (the supreme court said that's ok).
lemmylump@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 29d
Likely!?!
I'm so sick of this kid glove horseshit.
Witchfire@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 29d
Epstein Island is likely illegal, but a trans immigrant merely existing is definitely a domestic terrorist.
A_norny_mousse@piefed.zip · 1 pts · 29d
To be fair to journalists, they have to phrase it this way, until it's proven in a court of law I guess.
But I do hope that the article goes out of its way to point out that he broke the law already, many times, even with very similar shit.
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 20 pts · 29d
yet nobody did anything for 1+years, not even the DNC which they dint bother do any investigating the election machines.
switcheroo@lemmy.world · 19 pts · 29d
And???
It ain't like the "justice system" is going to do jack shit about it. You have to be poor in order to get your ass thrown in prison.
0ndead@infosec.pub · 17 pts · 29d
Throw that bitch ass in prison
whotookkarl@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 14 pts · 27d
Next time I break the law I'll take my punishment as a sternly worded letter from the doj too thanks.
iknewitwhenisawit@fedinsfw.app · 14 pts · 29d
Even if they fined him a trillion dollars he would still be a billionaire.
aramis87@fedia.io · 4 pts · 29d
I want him to have to pay a million dollars to vevery person who entered. Plus a fine ten times that amount into an election integrity fund.
huppakee@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 29d
I rather see him give a million to everyone in the US. It's like it'd bankrupt him
bitjunkie@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 29d
So fucking do something already.
bigbangdangler@reddthat.com · 9 pts · 29d
Whoa! I know a whole set of Americans who are apparently really upset at immigrants coming and breaking the law, or so they say. This will be the top story on Fox News any minute now.
Unfortunately though, he's too rich for consequences, and if recent history has shown us anything, it's that our corpo overlords think no consequences == no crime.
huppakee@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 29d
Also no negative effect on the people in charge = no crime
NotASharkInAManSuit@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 29d
No shit.
MyOpinion@lemmy.today · 8 pts · 29d
No kidding bribing people to vote is clearly illegal.
datavoid@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 27d
If you are worth a trillion dollars, you can't break the law
BlindPenguin@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 27d
SeeMarkFly@lemmy.ml · 6 pts · 29d
Who is going to enforce that?
Minimum wage employees???
Etterra@discuss.online · 5 pts · 28d
Don't worry, I'm sure he'll have to pay a big fine of 0.000,000,00,000,001% of his net worth. Oh, and pinky promise not to do it again.
SeductiveTortoise@piefed.social · 5 pts · 29d
That was only last year? It feels like three lifetimes ago.
thedeadwalking4242@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 27d
"Elon broke the law"
There fixed it for tou
Tilgare@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 27d
Isn't it fun that the media offers a presumption of innocence when we're talking about our evil billionaire oligarchs despite hard facts to the contrary, but we get a presumption of guilt even when there is zero evidence to back it up?
Murse@slrpnk.net · 3 pts · 29d
Timothy Mcveigh likely broke the law when he bombed the post office in Oklahoma.
NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 29d
Hopefully corruption along the way doesn't turn this into a, ya he did it, but his candidate lost so we'll give it a pass, type situation.
postmateDumbass@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 29d
Gee, almost decided it might be a problem before the elecrions after next elections after the problem.
Snapz@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 29d
Did anyone ever to track and report further on the "winners"?
Thebeardedsinglemalt@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 29d
No. You don't say...
osanna@lemmy.vg · 3 pts · 29d
likely?
TigerAce@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 29d
Wait. He actually GAVE them money? I thought I heard he only said he would, but never paid out because all the checks bounced.
HubertManne@piefed.social · 2 pts · 27d
I was sorta wondering as I had not known any money was given out to strangers by him.
TigerAce@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 27d
He's too greedy for that.
SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 29d
Yah think?
Treczoks@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 29d
Is election fraud punished en gros or per vote?
Flatworm7591@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 29d