Wisconsin’s elections commission referred complaints to prosecutors after finding probable cause that Musk’s $1 million offer was meant to induce voting in the 2025 state Supreme Court race.
Wisconsin’s elections commission found probable cause that Elon Musk likely violated the state’s election bribery law by offering $1 million to voters in the 2025 state Supreme Court election and has referred two complaints to the Brown County district attorney for possible criminal charges. The 5-1 vote by the bipartisan commission followed complaints from voters in Milwaukee and Green Bay, where Musk handed out checks just days before the election. Musk and allied groups spent at least $20 million backing Republican-supported candidate Brad Schimel, who lost by 10 percentage points to Democratic-backed Susan Crawford in a race that cost more than $100 million and became the most expensive judicial contest in U.S. history. Three Wisconsin voters received $1 million checks, while America PAC separately offered $100 to voters who signed or referred others to sign a petition opposing “activist judges.” The case adds to legal scrutiny already facing Musk in Wisconsin, including a pending civil lawsuit, after earlier court efforts by the state’s Democratic attorney general to block the payments failed.