Billionaire investor Elon Musk is attracting voters by offering $1 million per day to random voters for signing an online petition supporting the U.S. Constitution. Musk hopes to draw roughly 1 million to 2 million voters to support Presidential candidate Donald Trump for the upcoming election on November 5. Musk made the announcement on October 18 in Pennsylvania to encourage early voting and registration.
Further Details About Musk’s $1M Offer
The CEO of electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla (TSLA) has established a political action committee called America PAC to support Trump’s campaign. The organization is enabling mobilization and registering voters in battleground states.
Musk immediately gave a $1 million check to an attendee named John Dreher on Saturday. While handing over the check, he noted that Dreher had no idea about the offer. The petition, which Musk is highlighting, supports the First and Second Amendments that honor freedom of speech and the right to bear and carry arms in the U.S. Those who attended Saturday’s event were required to sign the petition, which also allowed America PAC to get contact details of potential Trump voters.
Musk went on to state that no one is targeting or trying to assassinate a puppet, referring to the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. To make his point, Musk stated that the two assassination attempts on Trump imply that he is capable of making a difference and bringing about meaningful changes, which won’t be made under Harris’ presidency.
Musk’s Offer Calls for Bribery Charges
Several experts have revolted against Musk’s $1 million per day offer, calling it illegal and an attempt to bribe. Cash prices awarded for registration and voting could call for a federal investigation, with a punishment of up to five years of jail time. Legal experts are stating that Musk is trying to swing the election results in battleground states, those that could largely influence the result of the presidential election.
Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, who is a supporter of Harris, is deeply concerned about Musk’s moves to speed up the pro-Trump candidacy. He has urged law enforcement to look into Musk’s $1 million per day offer. Most importantly, Shapiro is worried that Musk is flowing dark money into Pennsylvania and into the hands of Pennsylvanians.
Musk has become an open supporter of the Republican party this year and an advocate of Trump against his race with Harris. Musk has so far shelled out $75 million through America PAC, making him one of the strongest supporters of the Trump camp. In return, Trump said that he would appoint Musk as the head of the government’s efficiency commission.
Musk’s moves often impact the stock price performance of Tesla. Let’s see what Wall Street analysts are recommending about TSLA stock, ahead of the Q3 FY24 results due October 23.
Meanwhile, Trump’s Truth Social aka Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) stock has risen tremendously this year, with the elections soon approaching. DJT shares have gained 69% year-to-date.
Is Tesla a Buy or Hold?
Unfortunately, analysts prefer to remain on the sidelines on TSLA stock owing to the declining EV demand and falling deliveries, intense price war, as well as the unimpressive robotaxi launch. Year-to-date, TSLA shares have lost 11.2%.
On TipRanks, TSLA stock has a Hold consensus rating based on 11 Buys, 16 Holds, and eight Sell ratings. Also, the average Tesla price target of $207.83 implies 5.8% downside potential from current levels.
