Musk to face trial in Trump campaign lawsuit

Billionaire Elon Musk was due to appear in court in Philadelphia on Thursday after a judge ordered him to attend a hearing in a lawsuit seeking to stop his $1 million handout to registered US voters in swing states.

Philadelphia’s top prosecutor, Larry Krasner, filed the lawsuit Monday calling Musk’s project an “illegal lottery scheme,” and the judge in the case ruled Wednesday that the billionaire must appear in court.

“It is further ordered that all parties attend the hearing,” Judge Anne Marie Coyle said.

Musk sparked controversy after he announced the daily contest this month, prompting the Justice Department to warn it could violate federal law that prohibits paying people to register to vote.

Musk, 53, who owns SpaceX and X (formerly Twitter), has poured his millions, time and significant influence into supporting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump since endorsing him in July.

Musk, the world’s richest man, has reportedly donated $118 million to his personal pro-Trump political action committee, an organization that raises funds for the election.

He also appeared on stage with Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania and independently organized a series of town halls in a battleground state seen as critical to the November election.

Musk, who previously supported Barack Obama but has become increasingly conservative in recent years, bombards his 202 million X followers daily with messages defending Trump and denigrating his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.

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