Overview
- La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke announced Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, that he will not bring criminal charges against Elon Musk over a 2025 post offering two $1 million checks.
- Gruenke said the first post was vague, Musk replaced it about 12 hours later with a clarifying post, and no one was paid specifically for voting so he did not believe a jury would convict.
- The case reached Gruenke after the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission voted 5-1 that there was probable cause and referred complaints to the Brown County district attorney, which then recused and sent the matter to La Crosse.
- Musk held a Green Bay town hall on March 30, 2025, where he presented two oversized $1 million checks to Ekaterina Diestler and Nicholas Jacobs and the state attorney general sued to block the payments but state courts rejected that effort.
- The decision highlights how Wisconsin law requires proof that money was given to influence voting and shows the practical challenge prosecutors face when online political statements are quickly revised or framed as paid advocacy rather than direct voter inducements.