Elon Musk was ordered to appear in a Philadelphia courtroom this morning by the city’s district attorney for a hearing in a civil case against him and a political action committee.
The lawsuit filed Monday seeks to stop Musk’s $1 million-a-day lottery aimed at voters in swing states.
Despite the court order, it is not yet known whether Musk will attend the meeting in person. In civil cases, defendants are not always required to attend court hearings as long as their attorneys are present. NBC News has reached out to Musk’s attorneys for comment.
Musk or not, a judge will hear arguments this morning about Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s request to immediately stop the daily giveaways on the grounds that Musk and the America PAC he founded earlier this year were playing illegal sweepstakes.
“America PAC and Musk are pushing citizens of Philadelphia — and others across the Commonwealth (and other swing states in upcoming elections) — to give up their personal information and make a political promise in exchange for a chance to win $1 million.” An attorney representing Krasner wrote in his complaint Monday. “It’s a lottery.”
The daily draw is open to registered voters in the seven states who sign a petition pledging support for the First and Second Amendments. America PAC is the number one winner application and in X. There have been 12 winners so far, four of which are located in Pennsylvania.
“America PAC and Musk’s sweepstakes is clearly not a legitimate sweepstakes,” the complaint continues. “Under an unambiguous Pennsylvania law, the Pennsylvania General Assembly has declared illegal lotteries to be a public ‘nuisance’ and authorized law enforcement officers like DA Krasner to sue to stop them.”
The complaint also accuses Musk and America PAC of violating Pennsylvania consumer protection law by failing to show how they protect the personal information of petition signers or to disclose how the winners were chosen.
“While Musk said the winner’s selection was ‘random,’ that appears to be false because many of the winners selected are individuals who attended Trump’s rallies in Pennsylvania,” the complaint states.
Today’s hearing was originally scheduled for tomorrow, but was pushed back less than 24 hours after Krasner requested additional security measures, citing anti-Semitic comments and threats posted on X in response to Musk’s posts about the lawsuit.
At least one account posted Krasner’s home address, saying, “Krasner loves visitors. Wear a mask and leave all cell phones at home.”