By Enyichukwu Enemanna
A judge in Pennsylvania on Thursday said he would not immediately grant a request to stop Tesla CEO, Elon Musk’s ongoing $1 million voter giveaway ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election in the United States.
The judge, Angelo Foglietta during the hearing of the suit said he would place the lawsuit on hold while a federal court considers whether to take up the case.
Musk on the other hand has considered to move the case. If his bid succeeds, he is at liberty to continue the giveaway as the matter may likely not be resolved until after the election next Tuesday.
A vocal supporter of the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, the billionaire entrepreneur who has been spending heavily to back the former President’s return to the White House shunned an order to appear before the court during the hearing.
Philadelphia District Attorney, Larry Krasner is seeking to stop the giveaway less than a week before the keenly contested presidential election between Trump and Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris.
Krasner, who championed progressive causes when running for district attorney, accuses Musk and his Political Action Committee America (PAC) of hatching an “illegal lottery scheme to influence voters.”
Musk has been giving $1 million cheques to randomly selected people who sign a petition pledging support for free speech and gun rights.
The offer is limited to registered voters in one of seven states that will likely decide the outcome of the Nov. 5 election.
They include Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Musk gave away the first $1 million at an Oct. 19 America PAC rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s state capital.
Krasner’s Oct. 28 lawsuit says the giveaway should be stopped because it amounts to an illegal lottery that violates consumer protection laws by using deceptive language.
Musk in response said Krasner’s lawsuit raises questions of free-speech rights and election interference that belong in federal court.
