Elon Musk faced more ridicule on Sunday evening after he accused two protesters at a rally in Wisconsin of being paid to attend by rival billionaire George Soros.
The Tesla CEO, who was himself there to pay those in attendance for voting in the state’s Supreme Court election, broke into a smile after he was interrupted on stage and claimed the “operatives” had been planted by Soros.
“It was inevitable that at least a few Soros operatives would be in the audience,” Musk said as the protesters were escorted from the venue. “Give my regards to George!”
As they were led away, Musk started chanting “U-S-A! U-S-A!” which was picked up by the crowd.
Soros, who uses his money to fund progressive causes, has long been a bogeyman in right-wing circles, where he is often accused of using his wealth to buy elections.
But Musk, who spent $291 million during the 2024 election cycle and a further $20 million to endorse Republican nominee Brad Schimel for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, failed to notice the irony of his words as he handed out two checks worth $1 million each to attendees at the rally who pledged to support his agenda.
Former MSNBC host Krystal Ball responded on X: “Pretending like they are paid Soros operatives while you are LITERALLY THERE TO BRIBE PEOPLE TO VOTE!”
This is not the first time Musk has taken shots at Soros in recent memory, with the tech billionaire accusing his counterpart of harboring a “hatred of humanity” and orchestrating the recent protests at Tesla showrooms—rhetoric that has since been echoed by President Trump.
In March, Musk tweeted “An investigation has found 5 ActBlue-funded groups responsible for Tesla ‘protests’. ActBlue funders include George Soros, Reid Hoffman, Herbert Sandler, Patricia Bauman and Leah Hunt-Hendrix.”
When questioned if Soros was behind the attacks on Tesla during a recent interview with Newsmax, Trump said: “I believe that that is part of it, yeah. There are some of them that were involved with my trials that were, I think, probably involved with that also.”
Speaking at the rally, Musk described the upcoming Supreme Court election as crucial not just for advancing Trump’s agenda, but also the “future of humanity”.
“Thank you for coming out in support,” he said. It’s important for the country and the world. The Supreme Court can redraw the districts, which could result in the House shifting to a Democratic majority. If that happens, they will try to block all the reforms we are working on for you, the American people.”
Shortly before Sunday’s rally, the state’s Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal by the state’s Democratic attorney general to stop Musk from handing over checks to voters, who argued it violated state law.
“Wisconsin law prohibits offering anything of value to induce anyone to vote,” said AG Josh Kaul argued in his filing. “Yet, Elon Musk did just that.”
The court, which is currently controlled by liberal judges in a four-to-three balance, declined to give a rationale for their decision to reject the motion.
A previous court filing made by Musk’s attorneys claimed he was exercising his free speech rights with the gesture, and that any attempts to stop him from handing out the checks would violate his constitutional rights.
The payments were “intended to generate a grassroots movement in opposition to activist judges, not to expressly advocate for or against any candidate,” they argued.
Schimel, who wore a “Make America Great Again” hat while campaigning on Sunday, said he was asked to “reject activist judges” by Trump and that he “does not control any of the spending from any outside group, whether it’s Elon Musk or anyone else”.
