Billionaire Elon Musk spread debunked conspiracy theories about election fraud and encouraged Pennsylvanians to vote at an event at the Roxian Theatre in McKees Rocks Sunday.
It was the third stop in a series of “town hall” meetings hosted by Musk’s America PAC, a political action committee he founded in support of former President Donald Trump’s reelection bid. Musk, who is estimated to be the richest person in the world, is the super PAC’s sole donor. He has given $75 million to the cause, per recent FEC filings, as reported by NPR.
Hundreds of both Trump and Musk supporters poured in for the event. They lined up for blocks before filling the 1,400-seat venue to capacity, according to staff. Those who didn’t make it into the theater watched on a screen outside.
During 30 minutes of what appeared to be mostly off-the-cuff remarks, Musk, clutching a Terrible Towel and standing in front of a massive American flag, repeated false information about a “massive increase in the number of illegals that are being put in swing states” such as Pennsylvania.
“Now the goal will then be to, over the next four years, legalize all of those illegals. And when you have elections that are sometimes decided by 10 or 20,000 votes and then you put 200,000 illegals and legalize them in that same swing state, now you've got a 200,000-vote advantage. And every swing state will be blue and will be, America will be a one-party state forever, like just like California. And that would be a nightmare. Democracy: gone,” he said.
Musk encouraged undecided voters to support Trump, saying that a second term would result in “secure borders,” “safe cities,” “sensible spending” and “deregulation.” He pushed an unfounded conspiracy theory that Trump’s opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, is a “puppet of the machine” controlled by an unknown group of people and said the November election “might be the very last election that's a real election.” He also accused Democrats of “sedition,” and he said they “openly advocate overturning elements of the Constitution, especially the right to bear arms and freedom of speech.”
Musk stressed that Republicans “don't just need to win the presidency. We also need to win the Senate,” he said, and brought David McCormick, a Republican challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, on stage.
During more than an hour of questions, Musk downplayed his own desire to enter the political arena and fielded queries about government efficiency, his various companies, and his stance on “reshaping voter eligibility.”
“If we could just make sure that only legal citizens can vote, which is how it's supposed to be, I’d say that would be quite a victory compared to where we are right now,” he said.
Research has found that voter fraud is exceedingly rare in the U.S. It is illegal for noncitizens to vote. Pennsylvania’s Department of State verifies partial Social Security numbers, and first-time voters must provide ID at their polling place, among other protections. If a person lies about their citizenship status on voter registration material, penalties can include incarceration, fines, and deportation. When voter fraud does occur, it is prosecuted.
Still, Musk said, “I think we should not allow voting machines of any kind.”
“We want paper ballots in-person with IDs.”
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, about 98% of all votes cast in the upcoming election will be made on paper ballots.
Musk’s speaking tour comes at a time when his investments in this election have raised ethical concerns — both about the prizes he has promised voters and about benefits he may well seek to recoup for himself.
Event attendees were required to be registered voters and sign an online petition that asserts, "The First and Second Amendments guarantee freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. By signing below, I am pledging my support for the First and Second Amendments."
They were promised a $100 check for signing the petition and given a chance to win $1 million. (Signers must also provide mailing addresses and other information, and the PAC says it will "verify the accuracy of all information" before payment is made.)
Campaign-finance experts say Musk may be running afoul of federal elections law by using financial incentives that benefit only registered voters. UCLA law professor Rick Hasen, an expert in the field, calls the $1 million offer "clearly illegal," citing a federal law that bars paying a voter to register.
But Hasen noted that the only people eligible are "Only registered voters in swing states, which is what makes it illegal."
Not everyone agrees, in part because Musk's reward is given not in exchange for registering per se — it's available to those who are already registered. (Voting records suggest that Kristine Fishell, the lucky $1 million winner on Sunday, has been registered to vote since 2009.) And it is billed as an incentive to sign an online petition.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, the state's former attorney general, hedged on the practice's legality when asked about it on NBC's Sunday-morning public affairs show "Meet the Press."
"There are real questions with how he is spending money in this race. … I think it's something that law enforcement could take a look at it."
Meanwhile, ethics questions have also been raised about what Musk stands to gain from his tight allegiance to Trump.
And as The New York Times reported this weekend, Musk has a spider web of connections to the federal government, both as a contractor and as the subject of various regulatory reviews. His SpaceX rockets put government satellites in orbit, for example, while the safety of his Tesla vehicles is being scrutinized by a federal safety agency's just-launched investigation.
Trump has reportedly offered to place Musk at the head of a commission to make recommendations on government efficiency. (Musk calls it the "Department of Government Efficiency," whose acronym DOGE refers to Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency he has long backed.) The move, critics worry, could "give the world’s richest man and a major government contractor the power to regulate the regulators who hold sway over his companies, amounting to a potentially enormous conflict of interest," the Times reported.
Musk himself has made it clear that he regards government oversight as an obstacle to his efforts. In McKees Rocks, he said regulations had delayed a tunnel-drilling project by his Boring Company, and at a town hall in Harrisburg Saturday evening, he predicted that "deregulation actually will unleash a new wave of prosperity that is much greater than people realize.” He lamented the aggravation of trying "to build things and get things done," given "how difficult it is with, you know, permits and one agency after another getting in the way."
On Sunday, Musk said he does see a need for some regulation.
A Pittsburgh Steelers game is "a better game for having referees, but you don't want to have so many that the running back can't get through them,” he said. “You want the right number of referees on the field but no more than that."
Musk closed the event by encouraging attendees to return their mail-in ballots or vote in person on Election Day and instructed them to post “any sort of voting concerns” they encounter on his social media site, X (formerly known as Twitter).
“The brighter the light we shine on any voting issues, but the less likely there is to be cheating. And then the other thing is that it's won by such a margin that even if there is cheating, the margin is so great that you beat the cheat,” he said.
Oct. 21 is the last day to register to vote ahead of the November election. Voters who wish to apply for a mail-in or absentee ballot must do so by Oct. 29.
