Musk offers voters $47 to sign Trump campaign group’s petition

Tech mogul targets swing state residents urging them to support PAC’s call for free speech and right to bear arms

Elon Musk is offering voters $47 to drive up support for Donald Trump ahead of the presidential election.
The tech billionaire appealed to registered voters in swing states to sign a petition expressing support for freedom of speech and the right to bear arms.
The petition was set up by America PAC, a Trump-supporting campaign group backed by Mr Musk, which is focused on registering voters and encouraging them to vote early in the election.
It will presumably be used to collect the data of sympathetic voters whom the America PAC will encourage to turn out for Trump.
It has previously been reported that Mr Musk, the richest man in the world, is committing $45 million a month to the group. However, he has subsequently said he is donating at a “much lower level”.
A source involved in America PAC’s operations said that Mr Musk was personally involved in the decision to hand over $47 to voters.
The campaign group is particularly focused on driving up turnout of Trump supporters in Pennsylvania, they added. The swing state has been won by the victorious presidential candidate in every election since 2008.
“Sign our petition to support the Constitution!” Mr Musk wrote on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Also earn $47 for every person you refer to sign the petition if they’re in a swing state.
“Goal is to get 1 [million] voters in swing states to show support for free speech & right to bear arms.”
He wrote in a later post: “For every person you refer who is a swing state voter, you get $47! Easy money.”
Voters are being offered $47 because Trump, the 45th US president, would also become the 47th president if he wins the election in November.
The petition is only open to registered voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina. All of them are swing states and will likely decide the next occupant of the White House.
Mr Musk, who voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 election, has since drifted to the Right and endorsed Trump in July just minutes after the attempt on the Republican’s life at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Trump staged a rally at the same site on Saturday and was accompanied by Mr Musk, who was mocked online for his ecstatic “bunny hop” while the former president spoke.
Addressing the crowd, Mr Musk mocked Mr Biden as a “president who couldn’t climb a flight of stairs” while Trump was “fist-pumping after getting shot”.
Referring to Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, he claimed: “The other side wants to take away your freedom of speech, they want to take away your right to bear arms, they want to take away your right to vote effectively.”
Mr Musk and America PAC have been approached for comment.