Was Elon Musk, staunch critic of open borders, once an illegal worker in US? Here's all we know

Elon Musk's immigration history has come under scrutiny amidst claims that he was an illegal immigrant in the 1990s.

Various details have emerged about Elon Musk’s immigration journey in the past week. His immigration story resurfaced after a Washington Post report claimed that he was an illegal immigrant in the 1990s when he came to the US. However, the Tesla CEO has denied all allegations about his immigration journey and called it all a ruse of the Democrats. Here is all you need to know about Musk’s illegal immigration fiasco.

Recent reports suggest Elon Musk may have worked illegally in the U.S. during the 1990s, sparking controversy. However, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO refutes the allegations, asserting that they are politically driven attacks against him. REUTERS/David Swanson/File Photo(REUTERS)

The Washington Post report

The Washington Post recently reported that Musk may have worked illegally in the U.S. while starting a tech company in the 1990s. The article mentioned court records, company documents, and former colleagues, including a CEO who said investors were concerned that Musk might face deportation.

However, he denied the claims from the Washington Post report that he had worked without authorization in the U.S. This came after a video circulated of President Joe Biden discussing those claims. Musk wrote, “I was in fact allowed to work in the US,” as reported by CNN.

Reports were massively circulated among his critics as an emphasising statement of the billionaire’s double standards given he had denounced illegal immigration in the past months leading up to election day.

Musk’s initial immigration days

In 1995, Musk moved to the United States to attend Stanford University where he pursued a PhD in physics but left after just two days to start a tech company. Initially, he came on a student visa and later obtained a work visa (H-1B) for his entrepreneurial ventures, which led to questions about his visa status during the early years of his career. Musk never shared many details about his immigration status during the early part of his career when he and his brother were starting their first company, an online city guide and mapping tool called Zip2, as reported by CNN.

Musk and his brother’s old immigration post

On a rare occasion in 2013, Musk’s brother, Kimbal Musk repeatedly mentioned that the investors in the early days gradually caught up with the fact that the two brothers were “illegal immigrants”. However, the SpaceX founder argued his brother’s characterisation and said, “I’d say it was a grey area” at the same event.

In another podcast episode in 2020, Musk revealed that he had a “student work visa” during his early days.

Musk denies allegation of illegal immigration

Musk has reacted to recent claims about immigration violations by saying that these allegations are politically motivated attempts to "destroy him." He believes that the accusations are aimed at undermining his reputation rather than being based on facts.

He reacted to the threats of deportation as he wrote on X, “A lot of people still don’t believe me when I say that the Dems will do everything in their power to destroy me if they win on Nov 5th,” along with citing a report by Newsweek claiming, “Could Elon Musk Be Deported For Immigration Violation?”