WASHINGTON – The US Justice Department has sent a letter to Elon Musk’s super PAC warning that the billionaire Tesla CEO’s US$1 million (S$1.3 million) giveaways may violate federal law, CNN reported on Oct 23, citing people briefed on the matter.
A letter from the department’s public integrity section, which investigates potential election-related law violations, went to the PAC, according to CNN.
The Justice Department and Musk’s America PAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
South African-born Mr Musk, who has thrown his support behind Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump ahead of the Nov 5 election, announced on Oct 19 while speaking before a crowd in Pennsylvania that he was giving away US$1 million each day until Election Day to someone who signs his online petition supporting the US Constitution.
He handed US$1 million cheques to two separate people over the weekend – one to a man in Harrisburg on Oct 19 and another to a women in Pittsburg on Oct 20.
Mr Musk, ranked by Forbes as the world’s richest person, so far has supplied at least US$75 million to America PAC, according to federal disclosures, making the group a crucial part of Trump’s bid to regain the White House.