Elon Musk has been summoned to an emergency court hearing on Thursday over the $1m prizes he has been awarding registered voters in the swing state of Pennsylvania.
The Tesla and X chief executive has been ordered by a judge in Philadelphia to address a civil case by the city’s top prosecutor to stop Mr Musk and his political action committee, America PAC, from giving the cash away daily.
The suit accuses Mr Musk of operating an illegal lottery and trying to influence voters in next week’s presidential election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
Mr Musk and his PAC are backing Mr Trump, the Republican nominee.
The controversial billionaire has said he is handing out the million-dollar cheques in an effort to persuade people to register to vote and to vote early.
America PAC is one of several major political action committees in the US.
Such groups can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money in support of political candidates, on the condition that they do not coordinate with their campaigns or give money to them.
Mr Trump has said he will give Mr Musk a government job if he becomes president again.
Documents filed by Philadelphia’s district attorney Larry Krasner also revealed that the lawsuit against Mr Musk had “triggered an avalanche of [social media] posts from Musk’s followers,” many of whom “made antisemitic attacks on Krasner”.
The attorney asked for enhanced security for the hearing, which was originally scheduled for Friday, after users on X had published Mr Krasner’s home address.
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