Mia Sato writing for The Verge: Elon Musk’s $1 Million Handout Winners Are Connected to Republican Causes

On Sunday, a few thousand people in Green Bay, Wisconsin, gathered to hear Elon Musk speak — and give away two giant cardboard checks for $1 million. Attendance at the event was limited to people who had added their names to a petition against “activist judges,” created by Musk’s America PAC. He has promised money and other “surprise announcements” to people who sign the petition, and the splashy million-dollar giveaway ratcheted up the stakes.

And:

“I did exactly what Elon Musk told everyone to do: sign a petition, refer friends and family, vote, and now I have a million dollars,” Diestler says in a video that has since been deleted.

It's honestly exhausting to have spent the last few decades having Republicans claim that all efforts from those on the left to organize are funded by George Soros (were you guys getting paid? I still haven't gotten a check), but when their guy does it out in the open they're all chill with it.

This isn't even a one-time thing, either. Musk did this back in October 2024 as well, so it seems like they've got their new playbook and it's really not a big step to go from "here's $100 and a chance at $1 million for filling out this survey" and "here's $100 for voting for the candidate I tell you to vote for."