FOLSOM, Pa. — Billionaire Elon Musk promoted debunked conspiracy theories about voter fraud Thursday at the first of a series of planned campaign rallies in Pennsylvania aimed at drumming up support for former President Donald Trump’s campaign.
During a town hall meeting at a high school outside Philadelphia, Musk referenced the false conspiracy theory that Dominion Voting Systems was part of a plot to rig U.S. elections in recent years.
“When you have mail-in ballots and no proof of citizenship, it’s almost impossible to prove cheating,” he said, responding to an audience member’s question about voter fraud. “Statistically, there are some very strange things that happen that are statistically incredibly unlikely. There’s always that question about, say, the Dominion voting machines. It’s strange that they were used, I think, in Philadelphia and in Maricopa County [in Arizona], but not in many other places. Doesn’t that seem like a huge coincidence?”
“The last thing I would do is trust a computer program,” he said, pushing the idea that U.S. elections should be conducted solely on paper ballots. The Brennan Center for Justice, a progressive law and public policy nonprofit, has found that 98 percent of votes in the general election are expected to be cast on paper ballots.
In a statement, a Dominion spokesperson disputed several aspects of Musk’s comments.
“Fact: Dominion does not serve Philadelphia County. Fact: Dominion’s voting systems are already based on voter-verified paper ballots. Fact: Hand counts and audits of such paper ballots have repeatedly proven that Dominion machines produce accurate results. These are not matters of opinion. They are verifiable facts,” the spokesperson wrote in an email.
The company has largely rejected allegations that it participated in attempts to manipulate elections. Last year, it reached a $787.5 million settlement with Fox News in its defamation lawsuit against the media company over such claims.
Contrary to Musk’s claim that Dominion’s software was used in only a small number of counties, a Reuters fact check found that Dominion systems were used in at least 24 states for the 2020 election.
Musk’s appearance, which was livestreamed by Philadelphia’s Fox affiliate and on X, comes as Musk has ramped up his support for Trump. Musk has donated nearly $75 million to his pro-Trump America PAC, which he founded this year. Two weeks ago, he stood onstage next to Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Musk has also turned his own X account, with more than 200 million followers, into a near-nonstop stream of Trump support, repeatedly pushing false claims about immigration and voter fraud.
Studies and investigations have shown no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the U.S. When voter fraud has occurred, prosecutors have successfully brought cases against the perpetrators, including a much-publicized fraud scheme in North Carolina.
Musk spoke for about 10 minutes in what seemed like a loose cannon that ranged from concerns about censorship and government spending to the Second Amendment and urban safety, claiming that cities have become less safe for their residents. The most recent data released by the FBI suggests that crime has declined overall in the U.S., including in major cities.
Musk spoke about the U.S.-Mexico border, comparing it to the zombie movie “World War Z.”
Musk then answered questions for about 40 minutes, at one point engaging with an audience member who was yelling about Democratic megadonor George Soros, who has long been the subject of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Musk responded by calling Soros “evil” and saying he is “tearing down the fabric of society.”
In response to another question, Musk pushed a baseless conspiracy theory that Vice President Kamala Harris was being controlled by an unknown group of people.
Musk repeatedly encouraged the audience to get their friends and family involved and register them to vote in the state — where the registration deadline is Monday.
“Pennsylvania is the linchpin of this election, and this election is going to determine the fate of America and, along with America, the fate of Western civilization,” Musk told the audience as he stood in front of an American flag.
Emma Barnett reported from Folsom, and Ben Goggin and Kat Tearage reported from New York City.