r/news • u/Dusty_Bunny81 • 3h ago
Soft paywall Elon Musk agrees to settle lawsuits over 2024 election lottery
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/elon-musk-agrees-settle-lawsuits-over-2024-election-lottery-2026-10-15/324
u/Correct_Doctor_1502 3h ago
Committing election fraud shouldn't be something you can just throw money at
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u/techman710 2h ago
Also, an election isn't something you should just be able to throw money at. He is putting $168 million additional dollars into Texas to elect his fellow piece of shit Ken Paxton. We have to change the election funding laws.
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u/NoMorePorridge1 2h ago
Basically every campaign finance law since Buckley vs. Valeo in 1976 has been meaningless or a huge step in the wrong direction. While nominally limiting campaign contributions, it established the doctrine that spending money to influence elections is protected speech. That eventually led to weakening of meaningful campaign finance laws and eventually to Citizen's United in 2010 which effectively eliminated them.
Either a shit-ton of existing court decisions have to be reversed, or we need a Constitutional amendment saying that political contributions and spending to influence political campaign outcomes are not covered under the First Amendment. Americans mostly support the results of those things, but advertising to distort such measures would easily override the limited political understanding of most Americans.
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u/Groovicity 1h ago
Having money equal political speech means that those with more money have more speech than others. That point you made alone is the issue at its core. If rights are distributed simply by wealth, we basically have a cast system.
Not saying we already dont have hierarchical structure based on wealth and power, but establishing as legal precedent opened the door to this grotesque form of it we see today.
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u/Mans_Fury 3h ago
Elon is a shit-eating traitorous piece of trash.
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u/ManiaGamine 3h ago
Also, settling a lawsuit isn't an acquittal or sign of innocence. It's also not a sign of guilt but it leans far more that way than towards innocence.
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u/plaerzen 2h ago
Didn't trump say he didn't want Canadians interfering with the usa elections?
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u/Deeppurp 2h ago
He's South African.
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u/Mykmyk 2h ago
Tripple citizen lol imagine what the right would say if Obama allowed a citizen of multiple nations slash the government. Shit imagine if Obama allowed Musk to do the same thing. They would loose their mind.
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u/Russian-Spy 2h ago
Not that I'm saying the Democratic Party is perfect, but all the more reason to despise what Moser Republicans have done. Virtually anything even remotely controversial Trump has done, I guarantee if Obama or Biden had done it, Republicans would be up in arms over it. The Republican Party are a bunch of hypocrites.
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u/Chrono_Convoy 3h ago
It’s just fraud people
It’s basically required to get where he is and plenty of other broken laws
At least I agree with what his son told Donny:
“You’re not the president and you need to go away”
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u/ztreHdrahciR 3h ago
Can he also tell his dad: "you are the president and you need to go away"?
Of course, Elong didnt stay away
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u/Fallouttgrrl 2h ago
These people will put up with any amount of insults if it gets them the power and attention they crave and they can be useful to equally powerful people
It's the only form of friendship they know
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u/Trying2improvemyself 2h ago
Don't forget the, "shut your mouth" I know I heard a toddler say to the sitting president. And that young of an age, he was only parroting what he'd been hearing.
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u/Enygma_6 1h ago
Ah, the wisdom of little Meat Shield. The only person willing to speak publicly to Dementia Don at a matching level of metal capability.
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u/showmenemelda 1h ago
I forgot about that episode of the Twilight Zone on Pennsylvania Ave. Dear lord
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u/khalamar 3h ago
That means the settlement wasn't high enough. Make a note for next time, in Texas.
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u/Mand125 1h ago
Wait, why does he get to settle? Shouldn’t the people of the country get justice via a trial?
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u/Traditional_Day_9737 32m ago
Because when you're a trillionaire you can throw pocket money at a problem till it goes away.
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u/copyrider 2h ago
“Settle” = “Buy innocence”
This is a huge example of the correct answer to, “what is wrong with America?” Right now, the super wealthy run everything for their own personal gain with zero regulation.
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u/starrpamph 2h ago
I haven’t looked into this. But I have a feeling - it would be the equivalent of a regular person paying a fine of 12 cents.
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u/Eloquent_Redneck 2h ago
I gotta say he's really gotten his money's worth. Investing in regulatory capture is a pretty good investment when the government is full of corrupt yes men with no morals they won't sell down the river, often literally in the form of yet another superyacht
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u/goomyman 2h ago
No terms of the settlement?
Knowing this government it was probably 1 dollar and a promise to do it again.
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u/OverlordLork 2h ago
He wasn't being sued by the government here. He was being sued by individuals who were tricked into signing his pledge to enter the fraudulent lottery.
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u/haveanairforceday 2h ago
I dont agree. As an American voter i am the victim. I believe they are required to notify all victims.
I want this dude to do prison time for election fraud
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u/New_Housing785 3h ago
That's why they are taking reservations on a flying Tesla that won't ever make it to market. 5k to start and 245k in 45 days on a scam.
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u/chriskot123 2h ago
Yet again, if you’re rich enough and the penalty is a fine, it’s just the cost of doing business
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u/UnfortunatelySimple 1h ago
If you have money the puts you in the 1%, then nothing should be a fine, everything should be a jailable offence.
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u/Jesus_Is_My_Gardener 3h ago
Shouldn't be about settling, he broke the fucking law. He should be in jail over it.
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u/Shadowthron8 2h ago
Which is how rich people never actually gave justice. They literally pay for the privilege of breaking the law
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u/Woalolol 2h ago
So he's gonna pay like .0000001% of his monthly paycheck? Oh wow so great. Shows him
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u/Constant_Ad_8028 2h ago
That's just "the cost of doing business" for people like him.
The rich write a system where a felony for the poor, is just a transaction fee for the elite.
If the people of the world will unite to end this madness and stop playing their rigged game of exploitation, then, liberty and justice for all won't be just for the rich, but truly for all.
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u/showmenemelda 1h ago
I didn't pay attention enough 2 years ago, almost to the day. This scumbag was in the headlines and I ignored it because, FTG. But I'm afraid to open this.
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u/thehangryhippo 38m ago
You know for a country that has jerked itself off for its “democracy” for the last century… you’d think that we would take our democracy a little more seriously
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u/Dramatic_Reserve5984 32m ago
Ah yes, justice was served....not. Nothing accomplished. Elon is richer, nothing has changed.
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u/Skeeterdrums 3h ago
Isn't that the same as admitting guilt?
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u/Positive_Mud952 2h ago
You’re thinking of accepting a pardon. Settling is saying, “I’ll pay this much if you agree to stop suing.” Many reasons you might do it, or accept a settlement, and it’s almost never justice, just a calculation that lawyers will eat more if you don’t. Oh, they’ll still eat some or all of your settlement too, make no mistake.
All that said, Elon is clearly guilty. Traitor’s the one I have a hard time with, even if he is a citizen … well, no, he is a citizen and therefore his actions make him a traitor. It’s just so obvious it feels like we should consider it enemy action.
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u/mistermeowowowow 3m ago
I think your first sentence should be “taking a plea deal” vs. accepting a pardon.
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u/Stefalumpagus 3h ago
Nothing is against the law if you’re rich enough. Just have to pay a tax to commit the crimes.