US warns Elon Musk that his $1m voter giveaway may be illegal

US outlets, including CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, reported on Wednesday that the letter informed Musk’s team that the giveaway may violate federal election laws.

It was sent by the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section following outrage from Democrats over the cash stunt.

Under US law, it is illegal to pay people to register to vote. But it remains unclear whether the sweepstakes breaks any laws.

Mr Musk’s contest offers money to signatories of a petition, which the PAC circulated.

“We want to try to get over a million, maybe 2 million voters in the battleground states to sign the petition in support of the First and Second Amendment,” Mr Musk said in Pennsylvania on Saturday when he announced the event.

The contest rules state that winners must be registered to vote, but no party affiliation is required.

“We are going to be awarding $1 million (£770,000) randomly to people who have signed the petition, every day, from now until the election,” he said.

The America PAC website states the goal is getting “1 million registered voters in swing states to sign in support of the Constitution, especially freedom of speech and the right to bear arms”.

It is open to voters in seven swing states – Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina. US election day is 5 November.