The winners of Elon Musk’s $1m prize were not randomly selected, a lawyer said

Elon Musk’s political party has been deciding who will receive $1m (£772,000) in its campaign, and was not picking the winners, a lawyer representing the billionaire said on Monday.

One of Donald Trump’s biggest supporters in the election, Musk has given the total number of registered voters in the emerging states through his America PAC, in what many believe is a lottery contest.

Philadelphia District Attorney Lawrence Krasner called the offer an “illegal lottery” when he sued Musk and the group last month.

But Musk’s attorney, Chris Gober, told a Pennsylvania judge that the group nominates its recipients, according to media reports. After a while the judge decided that the donation could continue.

Common Pleas Court Judge Angelo Foglietta did not immediately give a reason for the decision, which he made a few hours after the hearing, according to the Associated Press.

America PAC has been awarding $1m to a voter in one of the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan and North Carolina each day leading up to Election Day.

Before the court hearing, the group announced that a man named Joshua in Arizona was awarded the money on Monday.

In a letter to X, formerly Twitter, owned by Musk, the group added: “Every day until Election Day, a signatory will be chosen to receive $1m as a spokesperson for America PAC”.

Gober told the court that the America PAC has already decided who will be the winner to be announced on Election Day, who is a Michigan voter, American media reported.

“The recipients of the $1 million were not chosen by chance,” Gober said, according to the Associated Press. “We know exactly who will be announced as the recipient of $1 million today and tomorrow.”

But when the world’s richest man launched the giveaway last month, many believed it was a random drawing of registered voters who signed a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments to the US Constitution.

“We’re going to be randomly giving away $1m to people who signed the petition, every day, from now until the election,” Musk told a campaign event.

A few days later, the US Department of Justice warned that the group may be violating election laws, which prohibit paying people to register to vote. Krasner’s office then sued to stop it.

Musk has been campaigning hard for Trump in swing states across the country, and his committee has been pushing hard in Pennsylvania, where polls show Trump is tied with Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat.

A lawyer in Krasner’s office told Reuters that Gober’s comments in court were “a complete admission of guilt”.

During the hearing, prosecutors played a video in which Musk, who is also the chief executive of SpaceX, said “what we are asking” is that the winners serve as spokespersons for the group, Reuters reported.

But Chris Young, the director of the America PAC, said in court that the recipients are tested and must have principles consistent with the group, reported American media.

Those who receive the money sign non-disclosure agreements that prevent them from publicly discussing the terms of their contracts, according to Reuters.

Musk did not attend Monday’s event.