Elon Musk has been ordered to appear in a Philadelphia courtroom this morning for a hearing in the civil case brought against him and his political action committee by the city’s district attorney.
The lawsuit, filed on Monday, seeks to halt Musk’s $1 million-a-day lottery aimed at voters in swing states.
It’s not currently clear if Musk will personally attend the hearing, despite the court order. Defendants in civil cases are not always required to attend hearings as long as their lawyers are present. NBC News has reached out to Musk’s lawyers for comment.
With or without Musk, a judge will hear arguments this morning on Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s request for an injunction immediately stopping the daily giveaways on the grounds that Musk and America PAC, which he founded earlier this year, are running an illegal lottery.
“America PAC and Musk are lulling Philadelphia citizens — and others in the Commonwealth (and other swing states in the upcoming election) — to give up their personal identifying information and make a political pledge in exchange for the chance to win $1 million,” a lawyer representing Krasner wrote in Monday’s complaint. “That is a lottery.”
The daily drawings are open to registered voters in seven swing states who sign a petition pledging support for the First and Second amendments. America PAC keeps a running tally of winners at the top of the petition and on X. So far, there have been 12 winners with four located in Pennsylvania.
“America PAC’s and Musk’s lottery is plainly not a lawful lottery,” the complaint continues. “Under unambiguous Pennsylvania law, moreover, the Pennsylvania General Assembly has declared that illegal lotteries are a public ‘nuisance’ and empowered law enforcement officers such as DA Krasner to seek an injunction in court to stop them.”
The complaint also accuses Musk and America PAC of violating Pennsylvania consumer protection law by failing to show how they are protecting the personal information of petition signers or disclosing exactly how winners are selected.
“Though Musk says that a winner’s selection is ‘random,’ that appears false because multiple winners that have been selected are individuals who have shown up at Trump rallies in Pennsylvania,” the complaint alleges.
Today’s hearing was originally scheduled for Friday but was moved up with less than 24-hour notice after Krasner requested additional security measures, citing antisemitic comments and threats posted on X in response to Musk’s posts about the lawsuit.
At least one account posted Krasner’s home address, writing “Krasner loves visitors. Mask up and leave all cellphones at home.”
