Musk moved to Palo Alto, California, in 1995 to attend Stanford University but did not actually enroll in any graduate programme. Instead, he focused on developing Zip2, a software company that was sold in 1999 for approximately $300 million.
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The Washington Post reported on Saturday that Elon Musk, a billionaire entrepreneur originally from South Africa, may have worked illegally in the United States during a brief period in the 1990s while he was starting his company.
Musk moved to Palo Alto, California, in 1995 to attend Stanford University but did not actually enroll in any graduate programme. Instead, he focused on developing Zip2, a software company that was sold in 1999 for approximately $300 million.
According to immigration law experts quoted by the Post, Musk would have needed to be enrolled in a full course of study to maintain a valid student work authorization. Musk did not respond to inquiries sent to four of his companies—SpaceX, Tesla, X (formerly Twitter), and The Boring Company—nor did his attorney, Alex Spiro.
In a 2020 podcast referenced by the Post, Musk stated, “I was legally there, but I was meant to be doing student work. I was allowed to do work, sort of supporting whatever.” The article also mentioned two former colleagues of Musk who recalled that he obtained his U.S. work authorization around 1997.
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Additionally, Musk has publicly supported Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in the upcoming November 5 U.S. election. Trump has consistently depicted migrants as threats and criminals, implementing strict measures to limit both legal and illegal immigration during his presidency from 2017 to 2021. He has promised a major deportation campaign if he is re-elected.
(With inputs from Reuters)
