When people saw the world's richest man walking onto a stage in a drafty convention center in Northern Wisconsin, they didn't exactly expect him to be wearing a giant foam triangle on his head. But there he was. Elon Musk in Green Bay, sporting the iconic Cheesehead, looking like he was ready to tailgate at Lambeau Field rather than talk about the fate of the "entire destiny of humanity."
It was a weird scene. Honestly, it was surreal.
The date was March 30, 2025. The location: the KI Convention Center in downtown Green Bay. Outside, hundreds of protesters were shivering in the March chill, holding signs that ranged from "Wisconsin is Not for Sale" to "NO DOGE." Inside, a thousand people were cheering for a billionaire who had decided that a state Supreme Court race in a mid-sized Midwestern city was the most important thing happening on the planet.
Why was Elon Musk in Green Bay in the first place?
You've got to understand the stakes. This wasn't just a casual visit to see the Packers—though he definitely leaned into that vibe. Musk was there to stump for conservative Judge Brad Schimel.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court was sitting at a 4-3 liberal majority. With an open seat up for grabs, the power balance of the court was on the line. Musk, who had already dumped over $20 million into groups supporting Schimel, told the crowd that the race could literally decide the future of "America and the world."
He wasn't just talking. He was spending.
The million-dollar "attention" grab
The headline-grabbing moment—the one that launched a thousand "is this legal?" tweets—was when Musk handed out two oversized checks for $1 million each.
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The recipients:
- Ekaterina Diestler, a local graphic designer.
- Nicholas Jacobs, the chair of the Wisconsin College Republicans.
Musk admitted he did it to "get attention." He said that making people realize how much this local election mattered was the single biggest challenge for conservatives. Basically, he used a seven-figure stunt to force the "legacy media" to cover a judicial race they might have otherwise ignored.
It worked. But it also brought the heat.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul tried to shut the whole thing down. He argued that giving anything of value in exchange for a vote—even indirectly through a petition signature—violated state law. It went all the way to the Wisconsin Supreme Court (ironic, right?), which refused to block the rally just minutes before it started.
The Cheesehead and the Brett Favre connection
You can't go to Green Bay and ignore the football culture. Musk knew that. By donning the yellow foam hat, he was trying to bridge the gap between "Tech Billionaire" and "Wisconsin Everyman."
It caught the eye of a local legend.
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Brett Favre, the Hall of Fame quarterback who is no stranger to political headlines himself, got a kick out of it. Favre told reporters that seeing Musk in the Cheesehead was a "moment," even joking that Musk just needed a leather pigskin in his hand to complete the look.
But beneath the jokes, there was a serious undercurrent. Favre has been a vocal supporter of Musk’s work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), even as Tesla showrooms around the country were seeing protests and vandalism. For Favre, Musk is a "resilient" guy who "loves this country." For the people protesting outside the KI Center, Musk was a "carpetbagger" trying to buy a court.
What about Tesla and Starlink?
While the politics took center stage, there’s a business layer to Elon Musk in Green Bay that most people overlook.
Tesla has a bit of a grudge against Wisconsin law. Currently, the state has "franchise laws" that prevent car manufacturers from selling directly to consumers. This means you can't just walk into a Tesla-owned store and buy a car like you can in other states; you have to go through a third-party dealer or cross the border.
Tesla actually sued the state over this.
If Schimel had won, that case would have eventually landed on his desk. Musk didn't talk about the lawsuit during the town hall, but everyone in the business community knew it was there. It was the elephant in the room—or the Cybertruck in the room, I guess.
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Then there's Starlink.
As of early 2026, Starlink has become a massive deal in rural Wisconsin. While Green Bay proper has decent cable, the surrounding areas in Brown County and up toward Door County often have terrible internet. SpaceX has been aggressively challenging Wisconsin’s plans for federal broadband funding.
The state wanted to use $1 billion in federal money for fiber-optic cables. Musk’s team argued that’s too slow and expensive. They want the state to use satellite internet (specifically theirs) to get people online "in months, not years."
The fallout: Was it worth it?
The rally was high-energy, but the results were mixed. Despite the $1 million checks and the national spotlight, the election remained a brutal, coin-flip battle.
It showed us a few things:
- Musk is all-in on ground-level politics. He’s not just tweeting from a private jet anymore; he's showing up in places like Green Bay to knock on doors (metaphorically).
- The "Elon Effect" is polarizing. For every person who cheered the Cheesehead, there was someone else who saw it as a gimmick from an outsider.
- The intersection of tech and law is getting messy. Between the Tesla dealership lawsuits and the Starlink broadband fights, Musk’s interest in the Wisconsin judiciary is deeply practical.
Actionable insights: What to do next
If you're following the impact of Elon Musk in Green Bay or his influence on local Wisconsin policy, keep these points on your radar:
- Monitor the Starlink availability map: If you’re in a rural part of the state, the federal funding shift Musk is pushing for could mean Starlink becomes your primary high-speed option sooner than fiber would.
- Track the Tesla dealership legislation: Watch for any "Direct Sales" bills in the Wisconsin legislature. If the law changes, expect a Tesla Gallery to pop up in the Green Bay/Appleton area almost immediately.
- Check the 2026 midterm filings: Musk’s America PAC didn't disappear after the Supreme Court race. They have a "block captain" program that pays people to canvas. If you're interested in the ground game (or just want to see how the money is moving), their public FEC filings are the best place to look.
The Cheesehead might have been a stunt, but the money and the policy fights he left behind in Green Bay are very real.
Next Steps for You:
You can research the current status of the "Direct Sales" bill in the Wisconsin State Assembly to see if Tesla's lobbying efforts are gaining traction, or check the Starlink website for the latest 2026 coverage updates in Northern Wisconsin.