Standing in front of a large American flag that spanned the width of a vast stage, the world’s richest man told the assembled audience that he loved him.
“This kind of energy lights a fire in my soul,” he said after everyone chanted his name, having just made one of the crowd a millionaire.
Of course, his love and that million dollars were conditional on them all doing what Elon Musk wanted. It was to sign a petition related to his political action committee (Pac) aimed at sending Donald Trump back to the White House.
The sight was surreal and potentially illegal. But no one here seemed to care one bit, especially Musk himself.
The billionaire is in Pittsburgh as his last stop across the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, where he has donated $75 million to support Trump’s re-election bid, which Trump won. If so, he seemed ready to accept a job offer in the Trump administration.
Musk’s latest gambit to help Trump gain more political power was to donate $1 million a day to registered voters living in battleground states.
Some experts say the practice is prohibited, violates federal election law that prevents payments for voter registration, and is akin to vote buying. The state’s Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro, called it “very concerning” Sunday and encouraged law enforcement to “look into it.” Musk’s America Pac did not respond to a list of questions from the Guardian after the Pittsburgh town hall.
Sunday’s winner was a woman named Kristin Fishel, who came down from the theater balcony wearing a red Trump T-shirt while Musk waited awkwardly on stage. She thanked not only the money, but also the “wealth and responsibility you are using to protect (free) speech.” Even after receiving the huge check, she did not return to her seat, and the organizers did not allow her to be interviewed. Hours later, a video of Fishel was posted to Musk’s X platform, in which she defended the virtues of signing his petition to an overlay of soft piano music.
Many of the Roxian Theater attendees said they signed up to attend the event before he announced the $1 million donation.
Many said they were not concerned by the idea of the world’s richest person serving in the Trump administration, despite the myriad potential conflicts of interest. (Mr. Musk’s companies have multibillion-dollar contracts with the U.S. government, but Mr. Trump has suggested that he be given a vague new position in the executive branch, “Secretary of Cost Reduction.” )
“I don’t think it’s a conflict of interest,” said one woman, who declined to give her name. “I think he’s fighting for a lot of Americans who feel like their rights are being taken away, especially their freedom of speech.”
Evan Hoover was undaunted by his assertion that Musk’s rise to power marks the establishment of a new era of American oligarchy.
“Power is all you have at that point,” he said with a shrug. “You already have all the money.”
Lauren Stevenson, 40, who describes herself as a political independent, arrived at 8:30 a.m. hoping to secure a seat.
When asked what Elon Musk has personally done for her so far, she replied, “We need more entrepreneurs.” “I don’t understand why you blame success. We were celebrating success.”
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Stevenson said she was disappointed she didn’t win $1 million, but she still planned to buy her first Tesla, and expressed frustration at not being able to ask questions in the remaining time of the town hall, which lasted about two hours. I was holding her.
Throughout the event, Musk repeated falsehoods related to the Trump campaign. He claimed that “the Constitution is literally under attack,” spread false claims about voting machines, and said Trump’s defeat in November could ultimately end American democracy. Ta. “I’m worried that if Trump doesn’t win, we’ll end up with a one-party state like California, but it’s actually going to be worse than that,” he said.
Many in the audience asked questions about Musk’s business. His views on the future of AI. Even if they had to start their own family. One person asked if he would consider running for president himself in 2028. He explained that because of the Natural Born Citizen Clause of the U.S. Constitution, he could not do that and did not want the office.
“I hate politics,” he said. “I just love making things, and making products that people love.”
Once, when he was asked about the future of nuclear power and began extolling the virtues of the sun, one of the attendees exclaimed: Let’s go to the sun! ” A man then tried to get the crowd to spontaneously sing the national anthem, but no one joined in. Another attendee tried to shout an out-of-place question and was removed by security.
But whether Mr. Musk would consider funding the viewing of a documentary about child sex trafficking at the U.S. border, or whether he would set up a Hollywood studio to fund conservative film projects. Some asked more conspiracy-themed questions, such as whether to consider . He did not make any commitments regarding any investment opportunities.
Before the event ended, some people started leaving, and Mr. Musk ended with empty seats visible throughout the auditorium. He exited the venue in a blacked-out SUV behind a privacy curtain as the sun began to set over the Ohio River.
The Guardian newspaper asked from the roadside, “Why aren’t you taking questions from journalists?” But the convoy did not stop.
