Checks (Not) In the Mail: Musk Sued Over 2024 Petition Shenanigans

Published April 10, 2025

A federal lawsuit in Pennsylvania has accused Elon Musk and his super PAC of failing to pay people who helped collect signatures during the 2024 presidential campaign. Somewhere between a blockchain and a broken promise, the billionaire allegedly left would-be democracy freelancers unpaid—because apparently the richest man in the world is still on Net 120 terms.

The plaintiff, a John Doe from Bucks County, says he’s owed over $20,000 for signature referrals. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, alleges breach of contract and violations of Pennsylvania’s wage laws. Musk’s America PAC had promised $100 per signature and another $100 for referrals. Math was involved. Money was not.

According to Doe’s attorney, Shannon Liss-Riordan, the problem may be bigger than just one unpaid civics enthusiast. “There’s been a lot of concern from people who weren’t paid what they were promised,” she said. The PAC, for its part, says it’s rooting out fraud. Naturally, the fraud always seems to be the person who didn’t get their check.

America PAC’s website insists it has sent out “the overwhelming majority” of checks—though some have been flagged due to "mismatched information,” which sounds a lot like trying to break up with someone using a bounced Venmo.

“I thought they were the ones who stood for small business,” said Dale M., a self-described constitutionalist from Allentown. “Turns out the business is small because nobody gets paid.”

All this comes just days after Musk handed out $1 million checks to two Wisconsin voters and called them spokespeople for the PAC, a phrase that now reads like either a dystopian title or a Ponzi tier. The Musk sweepstakes (no, really) had previously dodged legal trouble after a Pennsylvania judge ruled it wasn’t technically an illegal lottery—just “very weird.”

Egg Prices and Billionaire Promises: A Pattern Emerges

Meanwhile, over in aisle 6 of an Ohio Kroger, Trump voters are having flashbacks to November. “Didn’t he say eggs were gonna be like a dollar again?” asked Belinda S., clutching an $8 carton with disbelief and a coupon for dignity. “I thought he was gonna fix that on day one.”

These small broken promises—cheap eggs, fair pay, functioning democracy—may be adding up. “I don’t know, I just feel like... maybe billionaires don’t always mean what they say?” mused Greg T., scratching his head next to the dairy cooler. “But that can’t be it. Can it?”

“I still believe in free speech,” said one Florida man, “but only if someone eventually pays me to believe in it.”

As the economy stumbles through another tariff tantrum and unpaid labor dispute, a new question emerges: is this what the Golden Age looks like? Or is it just the invoice?

Coming soon: A PAC-led seminar titled "How to Stretch a Promise Until It Snaps—Sponsored by Your Groceries."