Elon Musk delivers cash, conspiracies to Pennsylvania voters

By Jarrett Renshaw

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - For four days billionaire Elon Musk toured Pennsylvania, putting his money and fame into helping Republican Donald Trump's campaign to take back the White House in November.

Musk drew praise from conservatives at his rallies while fielding questions about artificial intelligence, government regulation, sentient robots and vaccines. 

He also made a string of false claims about election fraud, some of them echoing those made by Trump the last four years.

The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of the X social media platform, Musk also handed out two $1 million checks to randomly picked people who signed his online petition backing U.S. constitutional rights to freedom of speech and bear arms.

Musk, 53, has more than a passing interest in Trump's success. If reelected, Trump promises to make Musk head of a government efficiency commission, a job Musk vows will help rid the country of regulations he views as bad for the economy and a deterrent to doing business.

CASH

Musk shocked a crowd of roughly 1,500 at a nondenominational church in the Pennsylvania capital of Harrisburg on Saturday when he announced he was giving away $1 million. The first winner was John Dreher, who rushed to the stage in a signature red MAGA cap, pumping his arms in the air. 

"I've been following you for 10 years, got your biography 10 years ago and been watching ever since," Dreher said to Musk.

On Sunday, Musk awarded another $1 million check to Kristine Fishell, who appeared stunned as her name was called and she took the stage in a red Trump T-shirt.

"Thank you so much for ... I mean I truly believe everything you're doing, truly. You don't need to be doing it, I know a lot of us feel the same way."

Musk said the winners are picked randomly but must have signed his petition and be registered voters in the battleground states that will decide November's election, such as Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona. 

His handouts have stirred legal questions.

CONSPIRACIES

Musk has also embraced conspiracy theories pushed by Trump, and is spinning some of his own.

He revived false theories claiming that voting machines rig elections - an assertion that has been repeatedly debunked since it was pushed by those seeking to overturn Trump's 2020 loss.

He mentioned Dominion Voting Systems, which last year sued Fox News for defamation over false claims that the company engaged in a vote-rigging conspiracy. Dominion agreed to a landmark $787 million settlement with the network.

"There's always a sort of question of like, say, the Dominion voting machines. It is weird that the, you know, I think they're used in Philadelphia and in Maricopa County (Arizona), but not in a lot of other places."

In a statement, Dominion pointed to inaccuracies in Musk's comments, including the fact they don't operate in Philadelphia.

Musk also accused Democrats of channeling vast numbers of migrants who enter the U.S. illegally into battleground states. 

Presenting no evidence, he alleged that Harris would legalize the migrants after the election if she wins, giving Democrats clear majorities in those states.

The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Similar claims have been debunked in the past. 

'POST THE EVIDENCE'

For many at the events, the idea the 2020 election was stolen from Trump was taken as fact despite a lack of evidence.

One attendee in Harrisburg asked Musk what he was doing to prevent a recurrence. Musk responded by leaning into the unfounded allegations.

“I mean if the margin of victory is high enough, then I think it can exceed any sort of cheating that may take place. So we're going to aim for just a massive margin,” Musk said.

He encouraged people to use his X platform, formerly known as Twitter, to shine a spotlight on potential election cheating.

“If people think there's a fraud, then they should post the images, post the videos, post the evidence," he said.

SHARKS AND WHALES

Musk has millions of dollars in government contracts and his companies face significant and at times costly government regulations which typically are designed to protect things like consumers, drinking water and wildlife.

Musk was asked if in such a job he would take a flamethrower to stacks of regulations and post a video of it. "I think a bonfire of nonsense regulations would be epic," Musk said. 

Musk recounted how SpaceX was forced to conduct a study to determine whether his rockets would hurt sharks when landing in the water. 

"I'm like, it's a big ocean, you know, there's a lot of sharks. It's not impossible, but it's very unlikely," Musk said. 

Reluctantly, they conducted the study only to be told to do a similar review on potential threats to whales, Musk said.

(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Heather Timmons and Howard Goller)