Information on the signers is not used in the canvassing program, and the primary objective of the petition seems to be to attract media attention and boost the profile of the super PAC itself, in addition to yielding data that could be used in the future. The effort has at least one fan: In private conversations, Mr. Trump has remarked about the creativity of Mr. Musk’s petition, according to a person who has heard him, although some senior Trump officials remain nervous about the super PAC’s broader performance.
America PAC has said it is sending out 187,000 checks for petition referrals. Add the 14 million-dollar winners and that equals at least $22 million in payouts. The gambit has drawn the attention of the Justice Department, which has warned it may not be legal, and the Philadelphia district attorney, who is suing Mr. Musk, claiming the effort amounts to an illegal lottery.
Some canvassers said they had quit in order to work on the petition full time, since it was a better-paying proposition. One entrepreneur set up shop as an online middleman, promising petition signers $10 if they used his email address as their referral.
Mr. Musk has surrounded himself with a mix of personalities as he undertakes this project. People advising the super PAC include longtime friends without experience in politics, like Steve Davis, one of Mr. Musk’s top advisers, who helped develop the idea for the petition; online influencers such as Alex Lorusso; and more traditional Republican operatives, including Chris Young, a field-organizing expert who recently took over as the super PAC’s treasurer.
Ultimately, though, Mr. Musk, known for being a demanding boss, is intimately involved with strategy, people close to the group say.
In recent weeks, Mr. Musk had a new idea, one that raised eyebrows in the specialized, highly paid world of political consulting, according to people briefed on the plan: America PAC’s top vendors should go out into the field themselves to knock on doors alongside their workers.
Ryan Mac and Maggie Haberman contributed reporting. Susan C. Beachy and Kitty Bennett contributed research.
