Elon
Musk,
CEO
of
SpaceX
and
Tesla,
applauds
as
Israeli
Prime
Minister
Benjamin
Netanyahu
addresses
a
joint
meeting
of
Congress
at
the
U.S.
Capitol
in
Washington,
U.S.,
July
24,
2024.
Craig
Hudson
|
Reuters
A
political
action
committee
backed
by
billionaire
Elon
Musk
is
being
investigated
by
the
Michigan
secretary
of
state’s
office
amid
efforts
to
collect
voter
data.
Musk,
the
CEO
of
Tesla
and
SpaceX,
has
said
he
created
and
helped
fund
the
America
PAC,
which
is
supporting
former
President
Donald
Trump.
Musk
has
a
net
worth
of
over
$225
billion,
according
to
Forbes.
The
committee
has
been
acquiring
detailed
voter
information
from
those
living
in
Michigan
and
other
battleground
states
after
people
submit
their
personal
data
through
a
section
on
the
PAC’s
website
that
says
“register
to
vote.”
After
clicking
on
the
“register
to
vote”
tab
on
America
PAC’s
website,
users
in
states
like
Michigan
can
submit
a
ZIP
code,
address
and
phone
number.
People
with
a
Michigan
address
are
brought
to
a
page
that
says
“thank
you”
and
asks
users
to
“complete
the
form
below”
to
help
wrap
up
the
voter
registration
process.
As
of
Sunday
afternoon,
though,
there
was
no
other
form
to
complete
below
the
words
“thank
you.”
“Every
citizen
should
know
exactly
how
their
personal
information
is
being
used
by
PACs,
especially
if
an
entity
is
claiming
it
will
help
people
register
to
vote
in
Michigan
or
any
other
state,”
a
spokeswoman
for
the
Michigan
secretary
of
state’s
office
said
in
a
statement
to
CNBC.
“While
the
America
PAC
is
a
federal
political
action
committee,
the
Department
is
reviewing
their
activities
to
determine
if
there
have
been
any
violations
of
state
law.
We
will
refer
potential
violations
to
the
Michigan
Attorney
General’s
office
as
appropriate,”
the
spokeswoman
added.
CNBC
first
reported
on
the
group’s
efforts
and
how
the
site
does
not
directly
register
people
to
vote
for
those
with
an
address
in
a
swing
state.
A
person
with
direct
knowledge
of
the
PAC’s
operations
told
CNBC
that,
at
one
point
since
the
group
registered
with
the
Federal
Election
Commission
in
May,
the
links
on
the
website
were
functioning
properly
—
but
admits
now
they’re
not.
The
group
is
planning
to
launch
a
new
website
in
the
coming
weeks,
this
person
explained.
The
person
declined
to
be
named
in
order
to
speak
freely
about
private
matters.
A
spokesman
for
the
America
PAC
declined
to
comment.
Musk
did
not
return
emails
seeking
comment.
Jocelyn
Benson,
a
Democrat,
is
Michigan’s
secretary
of
state
and
the
lead
election
official
in
the
state.
She
has
been
a
vocal
opponent
of
election-related
misinformation
and
taken
on
such
statements
made
by
former
President
Donald
Trump.
The
Republican
National
Committee
has
sued
Benson
and
other
Michigan
Democrats
at
least
twice
this
year,
according
to
legal
records.
Unclear
if
any
laws
broken
It’s
unclear
if
any
laws
in
Michigan
have
been
broken
by
the
America
PAC.
Barbara
McQuade,
who
once
served
as
a
U.S.
attorney
for
the
Eastern
District
of
Michigan,
was
not
convinced
that
the
the
PAC
was
necessarily
breaking
any
state
laws.
“I
am
not
aware
of
any
laws
being
broken,”
McQuade
said
in
an
email
on
Sunday.
Mary
Massaron,
a
partner
at
law
firm
Plunkett
Cooney,
raised
concerns
in
an
email
to
CNBC,
but
did
not
say
whether
the
PAC
could
have
broken
state
laws.
“It
is
very
troubling
for
any
candidate
or
PAC
funded
project
to
deliberately
fail
to
provide
information
or
a
link
to
register
to
vote
when
someone
asks
because
they
would
potentially
vote
for
the
opposing
candidates,”
Massaron
said
in
an
email.
