The richest person in the world according to Forbes, Elon Musk, announced he will be giving away one million dollars each day to one lucky signer of his online petition on freedom of speech and the right to bear arms.
The giveaway will take place daily until the U.S. Presidential Elections in November.
One unsuspecting attendee of Elon Musk’s event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, which was aimed at rallying supporters behind Republican Donald Trump, became the first winner – and instantly a millionaire.
Rather than a purely philanthropic act, the giveaway is understood to be, in fact, a publicity plan. Elon Musk said on stage, as he announced the giveaway, that he did this to make “legacy media” report on his petition, as he believed that news of the giveaway “is really going to fly.”
Elon Musk’s reasons behind online petition giveaway
The one million dollar per day giveaway is the latest example of Elon Musk using his extraordinary wealth to influence the presidential race between the Republican candidate Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Kamala Harris, analysts note.
The billionaire behind carmaker Tesla and rocket and satellite venture SpaceX has increasingly supported Republican causes over the years and in recent months became an outspoken Trump supporter.
The petition that Elon Musk is asking followers to sign for a chance to win one million dollars reads, “The First and Second Amendments guarantee freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. By signing below, I am pledging my support for the First and Second Amendments.”
But besides supporting the stated causes, Reuters explains that signing the petition at the Harrisburg event additionally allowed America PAC – Musk’s political action organization founded in support of Trump’s presidential campaign – to garner contact details for more potential voters that it can work to get to the polls for Trump.
The America PAC set a goal to get one million voters across Pennsylvania and the other swing states of Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina to sign the petition by October 21.
