Pennsylvania state judge says Elon Musk can continue distributing cash to registered voters for now.

The Donald Trump supporter, through his political group America PAC, is offering cash rewards to registered voters who sign a petition in swing states; US officials argue this could violate election law. Musk denies this.

Philadelphia District Attorney Lawrence Krasner this week sued Musk over the $1 million (£770,000) gift, saying Musk “must be stopped immediately before the upcoming presidential election.”

At Thursday’s hearing, Judge Angelo Foglietta said the case would be put on hold while the federal court decides whether to take up the case.

If the federal court chooses not to rule on the issue, the case will return to state court.

In a post on Musk-owned platform X, he said the decision was “American Justice FTW (to win).”

The case is unlikely to be resolved before Tuesday’s election.

“We will go to federal court and address the issues there and try to get the matter sent back to state court,” John Summers, a lawyer who worked with Mr. Krasner, told reporters after the hearing.

“Ultimately, this is a state law case,” he added.

Musk did not appear in Philadelphia court for the hearing.

The billionaire announced earlier this month that he would be giving away a random $1 million bounty every day until November 5 to people in battleground states (Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, and North Carolina).

These swing states suggest a particularly close contest between Trump and his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris.

Another winner was announced on Thursday. Musk’s America PAC said Dacey, of Fremont, North Carolina, won a $1 million check.

To be eligible to win, the sweepstakes requires registered voters to provide personal identification information such as address and phone number. They also must sign a pledge stating that they support the U.S. Constitution.

In the lawsuit filed against Musk, it was claimed that he “operated an illegal lottery”.

“America PAC and Musk persuade Philadelphia citizens to give up personal identifying information and make a political pledge in exchange for a chance to win $1 million,” Mr. Krasner said in the lawsuit. “This is a lottery. And it is unquestionably an unlawful lottery.”

The lawsuit also accuses Tesla’s co-founder of violating consumer protection laws by using “deceptive, vague or misleading statements” that could create confusion.

However, Musk’s lawyers argued otherwise.

“The complaint actually has little to do with state law nuisance claims and consumer protection claims,” ​​Musk’s lawyers wrote in federal filings, according to a report by CNN.

“Rather, although disguised as state law allegations, the focus of the complaint is to prevent by any means necessary the defendants’ alleged ‘interference’ in the upcoming federal presidential election.”

Just a day before Judge Foglietta’s ruling, the district attorney’s team requested increased security for the hearing after Musk retweeted a post insulting Krasner that prompted threats against him.

“This triggered an immediate avalanche of posts from Musk’s followers. Many made antisemitic attacks against Krasner,” Krasner’s team wrote in a legal filing.

Before the lawsuit was filed, Musk’s PAC was warned by the US justice department that the lottery-style drawing could violate federal election law.

BBC had previously reached out to America PAC for comment.

Under US law, it is illegal to pay people who register to vote. But legal experts told the BBC that whether the gift violated federal law was a gray area.

If the court finds that he broke the law, Musk could face a $10,000 fine and up to five years in prison.

Musk, who has campaigned aggressively for Trump, has insisted that voters who want to qualify for the rewards do not need to register as Republicans or continue voting.