Tech billionaire Elon Musk defended the legality of his super PAC’s $1 million daily donation to registered voters in swing states, days after the Justice Department sent a letter warning that the lottery-style contest could be illegal.

Musk, during a online town hall event On Friday, on his social media application X, claimed that the aim of the contest was not to encourage people to register to vote. It is a distinction that legal experts said is important because it is illegal under federal law to pay people to register to vote.

“To be clear, this is not a petition to vote or register for anyone. This is actually a petition in support of the Constitution of the United States, and in particular freedom of speech and the right to bear arms,” he said.

Musk’s US PAC has been distributing $1 million a day since Saturday to a registered voter in one of the seven battleground states who signed an online petition pledging to support the First and Second Amendments. The PAC is also offering $100 to registered voters in Pennsylvania who sign the petition. When Musk launched these giveaways, he was leading a series of town hall meetings in which he repeatedly stressed the importance of voter registration and his support for former President Donald Trump.

Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is the richest person in the world, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Indexand he uses his wealth and notoriety to support Trump’s bid to return to the White House. Musk donated nearly $75 million to the super PAC while campaigning in person in Pennsylvania for Trump and using his platform on X to do the same.

He said at one point Friday that he was trying to be “anti-Soros,” a reference to financier George Soros’ support for progressive causes. Answering questions on a variety of topics, he called for cutting government programs and reducing immigration, and on the topic of crime, he claimed without evidence that “there are virtually no centers- city ​​in America where it is actually safe to walk.” (Crime is decreasing across the country and is near historic lows.)

Elon Musk’s $1 Million Daily Drawing is open to registered voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Legal experts told NBC News that Musk’s contest fell into a gray area of ​​election law, and on Wednesday, NBC News confirmed that the Justice Department had sent a letter to Musk’s super PAC warning that the $1 million donation could run afoul of federal law.

Musk did not mention the DOJ letter during Friday’s event. The topic came up when someone named “Dennis” asked if the gift was real.

“It’s popped up in a few places where I’m not sure if it’s you in real life or the AI,” the person said. “Is there any truth in this?”

Musk said it was true and that signing the petition was “a no-brainer.”

Musk took a tougher tone toward the Justice Department on two other topics during the online town hall meeting. He attacked the criminal proceedings against Trumpsaying it was for “political reasons,” and he criticized the Justice Department for intervening in a Virginia lawsuit related to immigration and the electoral rolls of this state.

“The DOJ’s priorities seem wrong,” he said.