Elon Musk ordered to attend court hearing over million-dollar award for voters

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and all other parties have been ordered by a judge to attend a court hearing in Philadelphia on Thursday for a lawsuit filed by the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office.

The lawsuit seeks to halt Musk's political action committee (PAC) from giving away $1 million to registered United States voters in battleground states ahead of the presidential election on November 5.

The lawsuit, which was filed on Monday, called the giveaway by the tech billionaire's America PAC, which backs Republican former president Donald Trump, an "illegal lottery" that enticed Pennsylvania residents to share personal data.

"It is further ordered that all parties must be present at the time of the hearing," a judge wrote on Wednesday in an order with the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.

The hearing in the case was moved up to Thursday morning from Friday.

Trump faces Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in what polls show to be a tight race for the White House.

Meanwhile, neither America PAC nor Musk or his representatives have commented on the issue so far.

Musk promised to give $1 million each day to someone who signed his online free-speech and gun-rights petition.

Legal experts consulted by Reuters last week were divided on whether the giveaway violates federal laws that make it a crime to pay or offer to pay a person to register to vote.

The Justice Department sent a letter to America PAC warning that the billionaire's giveaways for registered voters who sign his petition may violate federal law, CNN reported last week.

The Trump campaign is broadly reliant on outside groups for canvassing voters, meaning the super PAC founded by Musk — the world's richest man — plays an outsized role in what is expected to be a razor-thin election.