On Thursday, Elon Musk held his first solo rally in support of Donald Trump's presidential campaign, encouraging Pennsylvania voters to vote early in the crucial battleground state, and later offering them cash to sign his super PAC's petition.
The billionaire spoke at Ridley High School's auditorium in Folsom, giving remarks for about 15 minutes before taking questions from the audience. Musk, along with many audience members, donned a "Make America Great Again" hat.
As the founder of America PAC, a super political action committee (PAC) that can spend an unlimited amount of money, Musk has been attempting to galvanize Trump's supporter base, encouraging them to go out and cast their ballots. The Tesla founder has pledged over $70 million to his own PAC to assist efforts to get out the vote.
In a post to X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, Musk offered registered Pennsylvania voters cash in exchange for signing his own super PAC's petition supporting freedom of speech and the right to bear arms, upping the payment to $100 from the $47 he previously pledged.
"If you're a registered Pennsylvania voter, you & whoever referred you will now get $100 for signing our petition in support of free speech & right to bear arms," Musk wrote. "Earn money for supporting something you already believe in!"
If you’re a registered Pennsylvania voter, you & whoever referred you will now get $100 for signing our petition in support of free speech & right to bear arms.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 18, 2024
Earn money for supporting something you already believe in!
Offer valid until midnight on Monday.
Many members of the crowd seemed exasperated by Musks' calls to vote early, with some of them even shouting "Why?" back at him, AP News reported. This follows Republicans encouraging their supporters to use voting methods such as early voting or mail-in ballots despite the fact that Trump has been disparaging these voting methods for years.
"This is literally the fundamental values that made America what it is today. And anyone who is against those things is fundamentally anti-American and to hell with them," said Musk, speaking about the U.S. Constitution.
"I haven't been politically active before. I'm politically active now because I think the future of America and the future of civilization is at stake," he continued.
At the rally, he also commented on Pennsylvania's alleged use of Dominion voting machines, which garnered widespread attention after being repeatedly mentioned in relation to conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 election. Musk said sarcastically that it was a coincidence that the machines were used in Philadelphia and Arizona, two highly contested swing states that elected Joe Biden in 2020.
Dominion clarified that their machines are not used in Philadelphia, contradicting Musk's statements.
"These are not matters of opinion. They are verifiable facts." Dominion said in a statement on Thursday.
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