More than a dozen Trump supporters in swing states who supported thousands of petitions circulated by Tesla CEO Elon Musk's America PAC during the 2024 election told the Post this week that they have yet to receive their benefits. He said he has not been contacted, or has not been contacted at all.
In October, Mr. Musk announced a program to reward voters in battleground states who signed circulars supporting the First and Second Amendments.
The signers were promised $47 each in John or Jane Hancock compensation, and in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, the reward was later increased to $100, for both the signers and the individuals who recruited them. was to be paid.
Plaintiffs were initially promised that their checks would be deposited by November 30th, while those who owed more than $600 would have to fill out an IRS W-9 form to receive the full amount, but the documents were not delivered immediately. was not distributed.
“November 20th, [the PAC] He said he would receive a W-9 within 24 to 48 hours,” Pennsylvania organizer Cameron Panasse said, sharing an email with the Post confirming the statement. “He didn't come until January 3rd.”
“It's frustrating,” added Panasse, who estimated he owes about $30,000 for his efforts to register student petitioners at Penn State.
“The site said payment would be made by November 30th, but all I got back was an automated email.” [saying] I can also submit a help desk ticket, which is a Google Form, but no one responds. ”
Arizona activist Shere Waltz Oliver has collected more than 200 signatures with the goal of raising enough money to attend Trump's second inauguration, which she calls “the ultimate Trump rally.” .
A few days before the big event, Waltz-Oliver gets her tickets, but she can't afford a flight or a hotel room because she hasn't been paid for her efforts yet.
“I believed in something bigger than myself, and I thought that by now I would have that much money and that if I got tickets to the inauguration, I could probably afford to go.” she said. “But I can't do that because I don't get money from America PAC. It's very frustrating when you're fighting for something and no one seems to care.”
Musk stood firm on his initiative even before the election, successfully challenging the legality of the operation in court.
But even after President-elect Trump's victory and Musk's own appointment as assistant director of oversight for the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, the dozens of people in attendance are left wondering if and when the PAC will make good on its promises. I remain confused.
“We were counting on that money to buy Christmas presents for the kids,” one Pennsylvania volunteer who said he registered about 200 people for the gun show told The Post on Tuesday.
“I have credit card debt and I want to pay it off. That was my goal,” said another man who claimed to have registered about 70 petitions. “Everyone has a goal in mind to actually file a lot of petitions. [America PAC.]”
America PAC declined to comment when asked if payments were being processed and when participants could expect them.
But a person close to the PAC's efforts said, “America PAC has worked diligently since the program's inception to ensure that all eligible recipients receive payments.”
According to this person, America PAC has so far distributed 650,000 checks worth a total of $52.8 million, but because the PAC needs to process W-9s, the results of collecting signatures worth more than $600 He added that outstanding volunteers “will be paid at the end.”
But volunteers told the Post they were never informed that payments would be delayed for so long due to W-9 issues, and spent hours recruiting strangers to sign petitions. They argue that recording information in online forms should be prioritized. For PAC.
Although some said they understood that operations were complex and payments could take time to sort out, many said their main complaint was a lack of communication from the organization.
“I've done a lot for this PAC. I've earned [money,] And the silence is deafening,” Waltz-Oliver said. “I'm not the only one in this position. People have had their cars confiscated, but they believed in hope for what this is.” [the PAC] Shredded it.
“Elon Musk gave us a voice. [in the election,] And now it has not fulfilled that promise. ”
A small number of participants contacted by PAC said they were offered far less than they thought they were being paid.
“They said they only owed me $7,520 and had already processed and sent a check for $564. I never received it. No check has ever taken this long to receive.” a North Carolina volunteer who said he owed nearly $12,000 told the Post.
“I received an email a few weeks ago asking for my confidential W-9 information, which I completed, but I haven’t heard anything. I don’t have an expected date. [when] I will definitely get the money I owe,” she insisted. “Nothing as to where my $564 check is, no answers as to why it was so heavily shorted.
“The whole process is a mess and needs an audit. I'm starting to think either they're completely incompetent or this is a scam. It's supposed to take almost 4 months to pay people. Is this how DOGE operates? It's not very efficient or transparent.”
A source close to PAC said these discrepancies could be because “some people may have introduced people who do not meet PAC's requirements.”
“This could be the reason for the discrepancy between what they think is owed and what the PAC has paid so far,” the person said.
“I feel defeated because I haven't been paid.” [and] response. “I don’t think America PAC understands how much some people were expecting this money to arrive,” said the Arizona volunteer. “Elon has basically provided a new age gold rush. The question remains whether he will ever get paid.”
