Michael Santiago/Getty Images
Audio By Carbonatix
Elon Musk’s America PAC, which spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars to get Donald Trump elected, owes an Arizona woman and potentially “thousands” of others payment promised to them for petition signatures they obtained during the 2024 election.
That’s according to a class-action complaint filed last week in Maricopa County Superior Court. The plaintiff, a woman named DeAnn Andong, says she is owed thousands of dollars for the 303 signatures she garnered for a petition pushed by Musk that supported “free speech and the right to bear arms.”
Andong’s lawyers did not reply to emails and phone calls from Phoenix New Times seeking comment. New Times also reached out to America PAC and to Musk, who is not named as a party to the suit, but has yet to receive a response.
The offer was rolled out in 2024 by the Musk-funded super PAC, initially promising $47 to registered voters in swing states like Arizona who signed the petition and another $47 for each registered voter they convinced to do likewise. It was “easy money,” according to Musk, who later kicked up the award to $100 per signature.
Will you step up to support New Times this year?
At New Times, we’re small and scrappy — and we make the most of every dollar from our supporters. Right now, we’re $17,250 away from reaching our December 31 goal of $30,000. If you’ve ever learned something new, stayed informed, or felt more connected because of New Times, now’s the time to give back.
The payouts were largely seen as an effort to encourage Trump supporters to register to vote and to glean data for a get-out-the-vote campaign. Though it’s a violation of federal law to pay someone to vote or register to vote, election law experts generally said that because Musk was technically paying for signatures on a petition, the offer was legal.
Musk later started handing out $1 million checks to some signers, which triggered a letter from the Department of Justice warning Musk that he might be crossing a line. Still, the million-dollar giveaways continued.
Musk also tried a similar money-for-signatures scheme in Wisconsin earlier this year, on behalf of a Trumpy candidate for that state’s supreme court. Musk sunk nearly $20 million into the race via America PAC and other means, stumping for the wannabe justice in a cheesehead hat and handing out jumbo-sized $1 million checks.
Result: Musk’s pick lost by 10 points.
Andong was not in Musk’s million-dollar club. Far from it. Her complaint states that she scored 303 signatures for America PAC, including her own, but she got paid only for 30 signatures, leaving 273 for which she has not been compensated. According to the suit, America PAC potentially owes her anywhere from $12,831 to $27,300, depending on which money-per-signature amount is used.
Michael Swensen/Getty Images
Show me the money
That should be no sweat for a man en route to be the world’s first trillionaire. But the class-action suit also seeks compensation for anyone in Arizona allegedly stiffed by America PAC, which the complaint estimates “to number in the hundreds, if not thousands.”
The suit proposes to obtain the names of those America PAC left high and dry, asking the court to order the PAC to cough up the names of everyone in the Grand Canyon State who provided an email address when signing the petition.
America PAC’s website claims that the organization has “mailed the overwhelming majority of checks owed to eligible referrers and petition signers.” It also addresses those who feel they haven’t been paid for the signatures they referred, basically urging patience.
“If you haven’t received payment yet, that does not necessarily mean you won’t,” it reads. “As stated above, we continue to review and process outstanding payments that have been flagged for mismatched information or require additional action.”
The site also advises non-recipients that if their combined payment exceeds $600, America PAC requires a W-9 form from them to comply with IRS regulations.
Andong’s complaint may have legs. It’s not the first class-action lawsuit filed by folks who allege America PAC chiseled them out of their pay. In one, an America PAC canvasser said he is owed $20,000 for signatures he referred to the 2024 petition. In another, three plaintiffs in three states maintained that America PAC bilked them in the same manner.
Both Musk and America PAC are being sued in federal court in Texas — home to Tesla’s headquarters — over the $1 million checks, with the plaintiff claiming that Musk and his PAC misled people into signing the 2024 petition by suggesting that recipients of the rewards were chosen randomly.
Attorneys for Musk and America PAC contend it was made clear that the check recipients were selected to be spokespeople for the PAC and the $1 million checks were not intended to be part of an actual lottery.
As the Notorious B.I.G. said: More money, more problems. You can’t even give it away. Which is no doubt one reason why Musk announced in May that he was stepping away from politics. Getting spanked in Wisconsin likely urged him in that direction as well.
“I think I’ve done enough,” Politico reported Musk stating at a forum in Qatar.
Those suing him may not agree.
