Musk Hands Out $1 Million Checks After Wisconsin Supreme Court Refuses to Block Payments

An emergency filing to block the payments was made on Sunday as the hotly contested Wisconsin Supreme Court election is scheduled for April 1.

Billionaire businessman Elon Musk gives $1,000,000 to a Wisconsin voter, Ekaterina Diestler, during a town hall meeting he was hosting at the KI Convention Center in Green Bay, Wis., on March 30, 2025. Scott Olson/Getty Images

Elon Musk handed out two $1 million checks on Sunday as prize money to Wisconsinites who signed an online petition by his political action group America PAC against “activist judges.”

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Sunday unanimously refused to hear a last-minute petition from the state’s attorney general to block the checks.

The court, which has a 4–3 majority of liberal-leaning justices, gave no reason for its decision.

Two lower state courts had already rejected challenges submitted by Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, who had argued that Musk’s offer violates Wisconsin law that bars giving money or “anything of value” in exchange for voting.

“The Wisconsin Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that elections in Wisconsin are safe, secure, free and fair,” Kaul said in a statement on March 28. “Based on our understanding of applicable Wisconsin law, we have taken legal action to seek a court order to stop this from happening.”

In his petition submitted on March 30 to the Wisconsin high court, Kaul wrote that because of the timing of Musk’s offer, “immediate injunctive relief is warranted here to stop respondents’ ongoing illegal action.”

Last week, Kaul filed a lawsuit in a state circuit court to block Musk and his America PAC from distributing million-dollar payments to two randomly selected voters, but a judge rejected the petition on March 28. Kaul later appealed the case to the state’s appellate division, which also rejected it, prompting the Supreme Court appeal.

“As of the time of this filing, neither Musk nor America PAC have announced that their plan to pay $1 million to two Wisconsin electors on Sunday March 30, 2025, has been canceled,” the suit said.

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul speaks at an event in Milwaukee on Oct. 27, 2022. Morry Gash, File/AP Photo

Wisconsin is slated to hold an election for an open state Supreme Court seat on April 1. Five of the court’s seven justices have endorsed a candidate in the race, raising potential conflicts for them to hear the Musk lawsuit.

Candidates Susan Crawford and Brad Schimel are vying to serve a 10-year term on the Wisconsin Supreme Court after Justice Ann Walsh Bradley announced her retirement. Musk and President Donald Trump have both endorsed Schimel.

“If you have any friends or family in Wisconsin, send them a note and ask them to vote early for Justice Schimel,” Musk said in an event posted on social media platform X earlier this month.

On March 21, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he’s backing Schimel and warned that if Crawford wins, “the Movement to restore our Nation will bypass Wisconsin.”

Musk had promised to hand over two $1 million checks at the rally scheduled for 7:30 p.m. local time on March 30 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Musk and political action committees linked to him have spent more than $14 million to help Schimel get elected, out of the more than $81 million that has been spent on both sides overall.

Musk on March 28 initially said in a post on social media platform X that he planned to “personally hand over” $2 million to a pair of voters who have already cast their ballots in the race.

Musk later posted a clarification, saying the money would go to people who would be spokespeople for the online petition. After first saying that the event would be open only to people who had voted in the Supreme Court race, he said attendance would be limited to those who have signed the petition.

He appeared in front of a roughly 2,000-person crowd in Green Bay to hand over the checks Sunday night.

“It’s a super big deal,” he said, referring to Tuesday’s election. “I’m not phoning it in. I’m here in person.

“And if the [Wisconsin] Supreme Court is able to redraw the districts, they will gerrymander the district and deprive Wisconsin of two seats on the Republican side,” Musk said. “Then, they will try to stop all the government reforms we are getting done for you, the American people.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.