On Friday, billionaire Elon Musk deleted a social media post in which he announced plans to hold a rally in Wisconsin. In the post, he said he would personally give $2 million to two voters who had already cast their ballots in the state's closely contested Supreme Court race. Musk had shared this on his platform, X, late Thursday night, but took it down about 12 hours later.

He announced that he would give $1 million each to two voters at the event on Sunday, just two days before the election that will decide the ideological balance of the court in the battleground state. This announcement was made even though Wisconsin law clearly bans offering anything of value in exchange for a vote. Musk stated that only those who have voted in the Supreme Court election would be allowed to attend his talk. However, he did not explain how he would verify voter participation. “I will also personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote,” Musk posted. “This is super important.” He didn’t explain how the two people were selected.

The Supreme Court election has broken past records for spending in U.S. judicial races. It has also turned into a vote on Musk and the early months of President Donald Trump’s time in office. President Donald Trump, a Republican, showed his support for Brad Schimel by endorsing him. On Thursday night, he also participated in a telephone town hall with Schimel. “It’s a very important race,” Trump said in brief remarks by phone, in a call organised by Schimel’s campaign. “I know you feel it’s local, but it’s not. It’s really much more than local. The whole country is watching.” Waukesha County Judge Schimel is competing against Dane County Judge Susan Crawford in Tuesday’s election. Crawford has strong support from many Democrats, including the four liberal justices who currently hold a 4-3 majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, as well as former President Barack Obama. Since a liberal justice is retiring this year, the election will determine which side gains majority control of the court.

Earlier this week, Musk announced that he had given $1 million to a voter in Green Bay for signing a petition created by his political action committee. The petition aimed to challenge activist judges. Andrew Romeo, the spokesperson for Musk’s political action committee, did not confirm if this voter was one of the two people originally mentioned to receive $1 million on Sunday. When asked why Musk’s post about the reward was deleted, Romeo did not respond immediately. Elon Musk promised to give $100 to any registered voter in Wisconsin who signed the petition or shared it with someone else. This led to concerns about whether the petition violated Wisconsin law, which makes it a felony to offer or give anything of value to influence a voter’s decision to vote or not vote. If challenged, the case could reach the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Schimel’s campaign spokesperson did not respond right away when asked early Friday whether Schimel would attend the event with Musk.

Schimel, who used to be the attorney general, was questioned about the petition on Thursday by WISN-TV. “I, frankly, thought, ‘Should I sign that petition? I’m against activist judges, but I don’t think I should do that,” Schimel said. When asked about the $1 million award, Schimel said, “I don’t know what the criteria to get it was.”

Democratic Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul did not reply to inquiries regarding Musk's gifts on Thursday or early Friday. However, Musk's planned trip to Wisconsin was described by Crawford's campaign spokesperson Derrick Honeyman as a "last-minute desperate distraction." “Wisconsinites don’t want a billionaire like Musk telling them who to vote for, and, on Tuesday, voters should reject Musk’s lackey Brad Schimel,” he said. Elon Musk’s political action committee used a similar strategy before last year’s U.S. presidential election. They offered to pay voters in Wisconsin and six other key states $1 million per day if they signed a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments. During the election, Philadelphia’s district attorney tried to block these payments by filing a lawsuit under Pennsylvania law. However, a judge ruled that prosecutors did not prove it was an illegal lottery, allowing the payments to continue until Election Day.

So far, Musk and the groups he funds have spent over $20 million to support Schimel. Meanwhile, billionaire George Soros has contributed $2 million to help Crawford, and Illinois’ Democratic Governor JB Pritzker has donated $1.5 million. Elon Musk entered the race just days after his company, Tesla, sued Wisconsin to gain permission to open dealerships there. Crawford and her supporters claim that Musk is trying to influence the court since Tesla’s case might eventually be decided by the justices. This election is important because the Wisconsin Supreme Court is also set to make key rulings on abortion rights, congressional district boundaries, union power, and voting rules—decisions that could impact the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election. 

Wisconsin is one of the few states where elections are highly competitive, making court races even more important since they determine voting rules. Trump won Wisconsin in both 2016 and 2024 by less than 1%, but he lost it in 2020 by a similar margin. In fact, five of the last seven presidential elections in the state have been decided by less than 1%. So far, more than $81 million has been spent on the Supreme Court race, breaking the previous U.S. record of $51 million for a judicial race, which was set in Wisconsin just two years ago, according to the Brennan Center.