Wisconsin DA declines to charge Elon Musk for bribery in 2025 state election
A Wisconsin district attorney has decided not to file criminal charges against Tesla CEO Elon Musk regarding alleged bribery during the state’s 2025 Supreme Court elections. District Attorney Tim Gruenke explained that securing a conviction for bribery based on Musk’s actions-such as giving away two $1 million checks to voters-was unlikely, especially after considering Musk’s subsequent clarification post. Musk initially posted on X that he would give out checks to voters who signed a petition against “activist judges,” which was later clarified to be limited to those who signed the petition, not necessarily for voting.Gruenke stated that nobody received payment for voting, and he believed the intent was not criminal.
Prior to the event, Musk posted on social media about giving the checks in recognition for voting, which was taken down and replaced with a clarifying post about supporting the petition, leading to the decision not to pursue charges. Musk supported conservative candidate Brad Schimel with campaign funds, but Schimel lost to liberal candidate Susan Crawford, maintaining Wisconsin’s liberal majority on the Supreme Court. Gruenke noted that legal action against Musk was unlikely given the context and the lack of concrete evidence of bribery.
A Wisconsin district attorney has decided not to pursue criminal charges against Tesla CEO Elon Musk over allegations of bribery in the state’s 2025 Supreme Court elections.
Democratic La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke said he did not think he could secure a jury verdict on bribery charges involving Musk, the world’s first trillionaire, for giving away $1 million to two voters during the 2025 race. At a March 2025 event in Green Bay, Musk handed out two $1 million checks to Wisconsinites who signed his America PAC petition against “activist judges,” a move that stirred up controversy and a lawsuit from the left.
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“Nobody was paid anything of value for voting or promising to vote,” Gruenke wrote on Tuesday, according to local news outlet WBAY.
Before the event, Musk had made two posts on X, posts that Gruenke ultimately centered his decision on.
Musk’s first post read: “On Sunday night, I will give a talk in Wisconsin. Entrance is limited to those who have voted in the Supreme Court Election. I will personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote. This is super important.”
This post was taken down about 12 hours after publication and replaced by a second post.
“On Sunday night, I will give a talk in Wisconsin. To clarify a previous post, entrance is limited to those who have signed the petition in opposition to activist judges,” Musk wrote on X in the second post. “I will also hand over checks for a million dollars to 2 people to be spokesmen for the petition.”
Gruenke called the first post “poorly worded and ambiguous,” according to the local outlet, but did not take issue with the second.
“Even if I could convince a jury that the original post was still a bribe, I do not believe a jury would convict Elon Musk of a crime after considering the intent, the second post, and the fact nothing of value was even given to anyone for voting,” Gruenke wrote, according to the outlet.
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In the Supreme Court election, Musk campaigned for and poured millions of dollars into support of conservative judge candidate Brad Schimel, who ultimately lost to liberal candidate Susan Crawford.
Crawford’s election maintained the purple state’s liberal tilt on the Supreme Court. Schimel would have flipped it into a conservative majority’s hands if elected.
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