Elon Musk’s Trump PAC Under Investigation for ‘Violations’ in Two States

A pro-Donald Trump political action committee backed by Elon Musk is under investigation for possible “violations” in Michigan and North Carolina.

The billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX had said publicly that he has created and donated to America PAC.

The PAC is being investigated in the two states over claims that its website asked users in battleground states to input personal data with the promise to help them register to vote, without actually doing so.

The group’s alleged activities to gather voter information were first reported by CNBC, which said that the PAC asked users in battleground states to input personal data including their ZIP code, full address and phone number, while those in non-battleground states were simply directed to voter registration sites.

Newsweek reached out to Elon Musk through Tesla’s press office as well as America PAC via a contact form on its website, outside of regular working hours.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office said it was investigating the PAC to determine whether it has violated state laws.

“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 spokesperson for the Michigan secretary of state’s office said in a statement, per 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 spokesperson added.

Similarly, the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office said on Monday that it was looking into the PAC following a complaint about its collection of voter data.

The North Carolina Board of Elections also said it was opening an investigation.

Its spokesman, Patrick Gannon, told CNBC: “North Carolina law makes it a crime for someone to fail to submit a voter’s registration form if that person has told a voter that they would be submitting the voter’s registration form.”

Newsweek reached out to the offices of Michigan’s secretary of state, North Carolina Attorney General and state Board of Elections via email outside of regular office hours

America PAC was founded in May and had raised $8.75 million as of the end of June, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

Musk has supported former President Donald Trump’s bid to return to the White House. In July, Musk denied reports he was planning to donate $45 million a month to America PAC to help Trump get elected. He later clarified that he had donated to the PAC but would not say how much.