Elon Musk Faces Possible Criminal Charges for Voter Bribery in Wisconsin

Elon Musk, the American tech billionaire, could be criminally prosecuted for allegedly bribing voters in Wisconsin. According to the Associated Press, the Wisconsin Elections Commission last week referred two complaints to the Brown County District Attorney’s office, which may decide to open a criminal case. Prosecutors have 40 days to report back to the commission.

The complaints, which are confidential under state law, were filed by voters from Milwaukee and Green Bay, located in Brown County. Musk handed out $1 million checks at a rally in Green Bay days before the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court election, allegedly violating state laws against voter bribery.

Musk, founder of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla, was deeply involved in efforts to shift the balance of the state Supreme Court, considered a key battleground in elections. He and groups he supported spent at least $20 million on Republican-backed candidate Brad Schimel, who lost by 10 percentage points to Democrat-backed Susan Crawford.

The election saw over $100 million in total spending, making it the most expensive judicial election in U.S. history. A month after the defeat, Musk announced he would significantly reduce political spending.

The bipartisan commission, with three Democrats and three Republicans, voted 5-1 in a closed meeting Thursday to forward the complaints, said commission spokesperson Emily Miklas. Musk recently became the world’s first trillionaire after SpaceX’s record IPO, and in March a jury found he misled the public during his 2022 Twitter acquisition.