GREEN BAY – Billionaire Elon Musk capped off his push to get conservative Brad Schimel elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court with a town hall in Green Bay Sunday night in which he handed out $2 million and said the state's election results would affect "the entire destiny of humanity."
"The single biggest challenge, I think, is actually making people aware that there is this very important election for Judge Schimel and for deciding on adding voter ID to the Wisconsin constitution," Musk said as he took the stage at the KI Convention Center downtown about 7:40 p.m.
On Sunday evening, Musk addressed a room filled to the point that a good number were standing in the back, with the crowd estimated at 2,000. In wide-ranging comments, he slammed Democrats and touched on immigration, artificial intelligence, voting and more.
Musk's comments came less than 48 hours before polls open on Election Day, when voters will choose between Schimel and liberal candidate Susan Crawford.
While Schimel did not attend Musk's event, other high-profile Wisconsin Republicans including Sen. Ron Johnson and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy took the stage ahead of the tech CEO and close ally of President Donald Trump.
"If you all turn out on Tuesday with your friends, we are going to win Wisconsin and send a message to the radical left: Don't mess with Trump, don't mess with DOGE, don't mess with Elon and don't mess with Wisconsin," Duffy told those gathered, which included former Gov. Scott Walker and U.S. Rep. Tony Wied.
Musk and his groups have spent about $20 million backing Schimel in the nationally watched election for a seat on the high court. Voters on Tuesday will not only choose a candidate but also whether liberals retain control of the seven-member court or it flips back to a conservative majority.
In a statement, Crawford's campaign spokesman Derrick Honeyman said Musk was in Wisconsin because he "knows Brad Schimel is for sale and is incapable of being the fair and impartial justice our state deserves."
Musk also handed out two $1 million checks at the Sunday event, which was only open to those who had signed his petition opposing "activist judges." The checks, which went to people he identified as Nicholas Jacobs and Ekaterina Diestler, were meant to draw attention from "legacy media," he said.
Musk's giveaway followed a weekend long legal scuffle over its legality, with
Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul filing a lawsuit to block the payments on Friday and the liberal-controlled
state Supreme Court rejecting Kaul's request minutes before the event was set to begin.
He also announced what he termed a
"block captain" program in which Wisconsinites could earn $20 for each neighbor they recruit to pose for a photo while holding a specific picture of Schimel and giving a thumbs-up sign.
Musk has also invested time in the race, last weekend
hosting Schimel in a half-hour discussion on the social media platform X, which Musk owns, and making the candidate's case on the X account of his super PAC,
America PAC.
And, Trump has joined him in recent weeks in advocating for Schimel's election, both on social media and in a
live phone call with Schimel on Thursday.
On Sunday evening, Trump took to X and his social media platform Truth Social to call Crawford a "disaster" and falsely claim Democrats have distanced themselves from her. He also again urged Wisconsinites to turn out for Schimel.
"Brad Schimel’s Opponent, Susan Crawford, is a DISASTER! She is so Far Left that even her own Party, the Radical Democrats, don’t want ANYTHING to do with her," Trump wrote. "Wisconsin Values are perfectly represented by Brad Schimel. He is Conservative, Strong and, above all, SANE. His Opponent is a Liberal Lunatic who will throw our Country, and the State of Wisconsin, into TOTAL CHAOS. Vote for Brad Schimel!"
Musk supporters say they want 'transparency'
Sunday night wasn't the first time seeing Musk speak for Aaron Smet, 29, of Green Bay. Smet has been a shareholder of Tesla stock since 2021 and has watched Musk give shareholder talks. He said that gives him a perspective of Musk that others miss, especially those who only know Musk in his political capacity.
"Once he entered the political realm, a whole new group of people were exposed to him," Smet said. "I think a lot of people just can't imagine a billionaire being altruistic and wanting to help or be a part of the government without some underlying intention to gain something from it."
Smet said during Sunday's event he hoped Musk would provide more transparency on the work of the Department of Government Efficiency that he is heading under Trump and give his opinions on the state Supreme Court race.
Transparency is also a top concern for Ramon Herrera of Green Bay, who said there needs to be more clarity on government spending.
"It's gotta stop. The bureaucracy has just taken a lot from the average American person," Herrera said. "I've seen households that were awesome, 10-15 years later be just demolished because of bureaucracy and from us taking jobs somewhere else."
Americans have lost "working pride," Herrera said.
He supports Musk and Trump, he said, because they are "doing what's right by the people."
Hundreds of protesters gather outside Green Bay convention center
While attendees were headed inside, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the convention center as attendees across the street filed inside.
Holding large signs that together read, "WI NOT FOR SALE" and others that called Musk a "Nazi," the group stood in the cold rain to make their point.
Attendees chanted at protesters, “Who’s paying you?” Protesters chanted back, “USA! USA!”
Emily Rogers of De Pere came to protest with her husband, who was in a heated verbal exchange with Musk supporters across the street when she spoke with a reporter.
"When I feel like Musk is tampering in our election, I couldn't just sit at home," she said.
Musk Green Bay town hall follows legal scuffle over $2 million giveaway
The event came after a
dayslong back-and-forth over Musk's released, then deleted and reframed plans to
give two Wisconsinites $1 million each at the event.
In a since-deleted post on X, Musk said he would
hold an event Sunday in Wisconsin and hand out $1 million checks to voters "in appreciation for you taking the time to vote."
But after election experts and Democrats raised questions about whether the offer violated the state's election bribery laws, Musk deleted the post and in a new post said he would instead be handing over the checks to two people who would serve as spokespeople for his
"Petition In Opposition To Activist Judges."
The new post also no longer said attendance would be limited "to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election," as the original post had stated.
Musk's announcement
prompted Kaul's lawsuit, which made its way from circuit court to the appeals court to, finally,
the Supreme Court.
SICK BURNS 
