How Elon Musk Tried to Buy a Court and Lost His Mind Instead
$21 million. $1M giveaways. Baseless fraud claims. This isn’t activism—it’s election sabotage.
In Wisconsin, voters just determined the ideological balance of their state’s Supreme Court. But instead of a quiet end to a judicial race, the results triggered something louder and more dangerous: a billionaire's megaphone blasting baseless claims of fraud. Once again, democracy finds itself under siege—not from broken machines or ballot errors, but from powerful figures unwilling to accept the will of the people.
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Elon Musk’s $21 Million Election Gamble
Elon Musk—tech mogul, self-proclaimed free speech absolutist, and now full-blown political actor—funneled more than $21 million into Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race in support of conservative Brad Schimel. That’s an unprecedented investment for a state judicial seat, but the stakes were sky-high: the court was expected to weigh in on abortion access, partisan gerrymandering, and voting rights.
And Musk didn’t stop at political ads or dark money. Days before the election, he personally handed out $1 million checks to two individuals during a Green Bay rally, framing them as rewards for “activism.” State Attorney General Josh Kaul immediately challenged the stunt in court, arguing it was effectively a political lottery, offering something of value dangerously close to the act of voting. However, Wisconsin courts declined to intervene, and Musk’s headline-grabbing giveaway went forward.
Despite all this, voters handed the seat to liberal candidate Susan Crawford in a decisive victory. But instead of accepting the result, Musk shifted tactics, amplifying conspiracy theories that the race had been “stolen,” reposting content from far-right figures on his platform, X.
We reported on the Wisconsin election here:
Baseless Accusations, Damaging Consequences
Let’s be clear: this race has zero credible evidence of fraud.
Even Musk’s candidate, Brad Schimel, conceded defeat and urged supporters to accept the result:
“You’ve got to accept the results.” — Brad Schimel
So why is Musk pushing the lie? It’s not just sour grapes. It’s a deliberate attempt to erode public trust and normalize election denialism.
Recycling the Big Lie
This strategy isn’t new. It was the centerpiece of Donald Trump’s post-2020 campaign. His "Stop the Steal" lies didn’t hold up in court, but they did help incite a violent insurrection. Now, figures like Musk are recycling that dangerous playbook.
The twist? Musk isn’t just another voice in the chaos; he controls the platform where the chaos lives. His influence gets algorithmic priority. His cryptic posts become headlines. His doubt becomes a dangerous drumbeat for millions of followers.
Free Speech for Me, But Not for Thee
Elon Musk loves to position himself as a free-speech absolutist. It’s one of his core branding pillars, used to justify his acquisition of X and his relaxed policies on platform moderation. But here’s the irony: while he welcomes conspiracy theories and election denialism, he actively punishes critics and dissenters.
Users who mock Musk or challenge right-wing narratives he amplifies often find their accounts throttled, suspended, or shadowbanned. Journalists have been banned for reporting on Musk. Even satire gets punished, unless, of course, it's directed at progressives or marginalized groups.
This isn’t free speech. It’s selective speech, policed by a billionaire with a political agenda.
When disinformation is allowed to spread unchecked, but legitimate journalism and criticism are punished, the result isn’t open discourse—it’s a rigged conversation that serves the powerful. And Musk is no longer just a tech mogul. He’s a media gatekeeper shaping the political reality millions of Americans see.
Undermining Democracy One “Hmm” at a Time
This is bigger than one race. It’s about faith in democracy itself.
Repeated exposure to false election claims—even subtle ones—erodes public confidence, suppresses voter turnout, fuels radicalization, and sets the stage for future political violence.
This is election interference—not with ballots or foreign bots, but with billionaires, misinformation, and unchecked influence.
When Losing in Court Becomes a Win for Billionaires
What’s perhaps most chilling is that Musk’s courtroom “losses” in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin over petition lotteries now risk becoming a playbook for future political interference. By dodging explicit vote-buying language and framing his $1 million payouts as free speech or “activism,” Musk has effectively tested the limits of election law and found them alarmingly pliable.
Both states declined to stop him, and no charges were filed. Even if cautious or procedural, the judiciary's silence sends a loud signal: unless bribery is spelled out in neon, billionaires are free to dangle massive rewards in the middle of an election.
In practice, this sets a dangerous precedent. Other wealthy actors are watching. Unless state laws are rewritten—or Congress acts to rein in this behavior—we’re looking at the future of elections where influence isn’t just bought behind the scenes but handed out in oversized checks on live TV.
We’ve Seen This Movie. The Ending Is Ugly.
We know how this ends. January 6 didn’t emerge from nowhere; it was fueled by months of deliberate, dishonest attacks on election legitimacy.
This is the same script.
It ends differently only if we demand it.
Wisconsin voters did their part.
Now it’s our turn.
We examined how this outsized influence impacts elections in more detail here:
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Call to Action: Reclaim Democracy from Billionaire Influence
Elon Musk’s post-election meddling isn’t an isolated incident; it’s a symptom of a deeper, systemic issue. The 2010 Citizens United decision opened the floodgates for unlimited corporate and billionaire spending in our elections. Now, Musk is exploiting legal gray zones and using his media empire to shape the political conversation in real time with dangerous results.
If you’re alarmed by this erosion of democratic principles:
Demand legal reforms to close campaign loopholes that allow pseudo-lotteries, dark money, and unchecked influence.
Push for platform accountability. Free speech doesn’t mean letting billionaires algorithmically amplify lies while silencing critics.
Join the movement to overturn Citizens United and restore democratic safeguards that protect the many from the whims of the wealthy few.
This isn’t just about Elon Musk. It’s about whether we let the loudest, wealthiest voices rewrite the rules, or reclaim a system that belongs to all of us.
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Bibliography:
Lavietes, Matt. “Elon Musk Spent $21 Million on an Anti-LGBTQ+ Candidate in Wisconsin. He Still Lost.” Them, April 3, 2025. https://www.them.us/story/elon-musk-wisconsin-judicial-election-susan-crawford-brad-schimel
Sainato, Michael. “Now Elon Musk Spreads a Conspiracy Theory Over Wisconsin Supreme Court Defeat.” The Independent, April 4, 2025. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/elon-musk-wisconsin-supreme-court-theory-b2726608.html
Richmond, Todd. “Once Common, Now Unusual: Conservative Candidate Publicly Quashes Shouts That the Other Side Cheated.” Associated Press, April 3, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/bea58b8a65098cc1c4a7c05d33494b8a
Viebeck, Elise et al. “Over 230 Republican Candidates Have Cast Doubt on the 2024 Election.” The Washington Post, March 26, 2024. https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/interactive/2024/elections-doubts-2024-republicans
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Vasilogambros, Matt. “Legal Experts Say Musk's Wisconsin Giveaway May Violate Election Law—But Enforcement Is Unlikely.” Votebeat, March 31, 2025.
https://www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/2025/03/31/elon-musk-rally-green-bay-one-million-dollars-wisconsin-supreme-court-brad-schimel/Le Monde. “When It Comes to Disinformation About the US Presidential Election, Elon Musk Outdoes Russia.” Le Monde, November 3, 2024.
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/pixels/article/2024/11/03/when-it-comes-to-disinformation-about-the-us-presidential-election-elon-musk-outdoes-russia_6731441_13.htmlAP News. “Wisconsin Supreme Court Election Draws Record Spending, Legal Controversy Over Musk Payments.” Associated Press, April 1, 2025.
https://apnews.com/article/wisconsin-supreme-court-elon-musk-lottery-trump-b272e6af6c18ff5b73cd100ecec275b7Fox6 News. “Wisconsin Supreme Court Won’t Block Musk's $1M Voter Payments.” Fox6 Milwaukee, March 31, 2025. https://www.fox6now.com/news/elon-musk-voter-payment-lawsuit-kaul-state-supreme-court
Citizens United paved the way for Leon Musktard. What looks like blatant corruption is allowed to move forward on every turn.