The lawsuit, seeking class-action status, claims Musk promised registered voters $100 if they signed a petition supporting free speech and gun rights, and then another $100 if they got others to sign.
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A Pennsylvania man is suing billionaire Elon Musk and his America PAC as part of a lawsuit that claims canvassers are still owed millions of dollars for getting people to sign petitions during last year’s presidential election.
According to court records obtained by USA TODAY, the federal lawsuit seeking class-action status was filed on Tuesday in Pennsylvania by a man who was not identified for safety reasons. The suit alleges that Musk and the America PAC owe upwards of $5 million to about 100 people.
In the lawsuit, the man says he and other registered voters were promised $100 if they signed a petition supporting free speech and gun rights. The voters were then promised another $100 for every person they got to sign the petition, according to the court document.
“While Plaintiff was paid his hourly rate for canvassing, and he was paid some referrals for the petition signatures he obtained,” the lawsuit says. “Plaintiff estimates that he has not been paid at least $20,000 he is owed for his referrals.”
Shannon Liss-Riordan, the unidentified man’s attorney, told USA TODAY that this lawsuit “is about a broken promise.”
“Elon Musk promised supporters that they would be paid for signing a petition and referring others to do the same,” the attorney said. “Our client relied on that promise because he believed in Elon, but unfortunately, that promise was not kept. It appears the promise was broken for many others as well.”
Lawsuit comes as Musk gives out money to voters
The lawsuit against Musk comes right after the billionaire gave $1 million checks to two Wisconsin voters during a rally in Green Bay on Sunday. The checks were handed out as he sought to garner support for a state Supreme Court election in which the conservative candidate ultimately lost.
In addition to giving away the million-dollar checks, Musk said he would also pay supporters $20 for each voter they recruited over the two days leading up to the election.
American PAC spokesman Andrew Romeo seemingly defended against the lawsuit in a statement to CNN.
“America PAC is committed to paying for every legitimate petition signature, which is evidenced by the fact that we have paid tens of millions of dollars to canvassers for their hard work in support of our mission,” Romeo said, per CNN.
Contributing: Reuters
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.