Billionaire Elon Musk waves to the crowd as he exits the stage during a town hall on Sunday, March 30, 2025, at the KI Convention Center in Green Bay, Wis. Musk held the event to drive turnout for Tuesday’s state Supreme Court election between Brad Schimel and Susan Crawford. Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Sacramento, California – A California state senator is pushing to close what he calls a dangerous loophole in election law—one made visible, he argues, by none other than Elon Musk.
Senator Tom Umberg, a Democrat from Santa Ana and a former federal prosecutor, introduced Senate Bill 398 earlier this year to ban financial incentives tied to voting or voter registration, including high-profile giveaways like the ones Musk and his political action committee conducted during the 2024 election cycle. The bill passed the Senate with unanimous support and is now awaiting a hearing in the Assembly.
“There’s a fellow named Elon Musk,” Umberg told colleagues earlier this year. “You might have heard of him.”
Musk made headlines last fall by pledging daily million-dollar giveaways to registered voters in seven swing states. Participants had to sign a petition on gun rights and free speech, and the winners—chosen not by chance, Musk’s team insisted, but for their “messaging value”—were awarded massive checks and dubbed “spokespeople.” Critics called it a lottery wrapped in politics. Musk also gave $1 million each to two voters during a tense Wisconsin Supreme Court race, and offered $100 payouts to petition signers opposing “activist judges.”
California law already prohibits exchanging money for votes or registration. But Musk’s actions, which didn’t explicitly require a vote or registration in exchange for cash, fell into what election lawyers describe as a legal gray zone. Federal law also forbids vote buying, but Musk’s team claimed the giveaways were legal advocacy, not bribery.
Umberg’s legislation seeks to eliminate ambiguity. SB 398 would make it a crime to offer cash, prizes, or any material benefit in a way “contingent on whether the person voted or the person’s voter registration status.” Violators could face fines up to $10,000 and as much as three years in prison.
The bill is part of a larger suite of voting-related proposals advancing through Sacramento this session, including measures to speed up ballot counting and improve access for overseas voters. But SB 398 stands out for its high-profile target and the political moment it reflects: growing anxieties over the influence of billionaires and the evolving nature of election interference.
Supporters, including the California Clean Money Campaign, say the principle is clear. “One of the cornerstones of our democracy is that no one should be allowed to buy votes,” said the group’s executive director, Trent Lange.
So far, neither Musk nor his political action committee have commented on the bill. A court challenge in Wisconsin is already underway, seeking to block similar giveaways in future elections.
