Austin judge lets class action against Musk, America PAC proceed

A federal judge in Austin has allowed a proposed class-action claim against Elon Musk and his political action committee, America PAC, to move forward, ruling that the plaintiff plausibly alleges she was misled into signing a petition in the run-up to the 2024 election with promises of daily 1 million prizes. The decision comes as part of ongoing scrutiny over Musk’s high-profile campaign-promotional efforts and the collection of personal identifying information from participants.

The plaintiff, Jacqueline McAferty, an Arizona resident, contends that Musk and America PAC urged voters in seven battleground states to sign a petition supporting the U.S. Constitution by promising that recipients would be entered into a lottery for daily prizes of one million dollars. She and others who participated were asked to provide names, addresses, email addresses and phone numbers. While Musk’s side has argued that the payments were not prizes but compensation for individuals “selected to earn” money as PAC spokespeople, the court found sufficient grounds to proceed with claims that the promotion misled participants and harmed them by obtaining their personal data for political use.