Elon Musk once worked in the U.S illegally

Question

President Joe Biden has slammed Elon Musk for hypocrisy on immigration after a published report that the Tesla CEO once worked illegally in the United States.

Answer 1

The claim is that Elon Musk worked illegally in the U.S. for a time. To begin, AP News is a generally credible source that was founded in 1846 and has won more than 55 Pulitzer prizes. The article does not name an author but it was last updated October 28, 2024. According to the report by AP News, Joe Biden claimed that Elon Musk had worked illegally in the US by saying that the "wealthiest man in the world turned out to be an illegal worker here." Elon Musk denied it. AP News cites the Washington Post explaining that Musk worked in the U.S. while on a student visa. Evidence includes investors giving him a deadline to get a work visa and an email from Musk explaining his situation similarly. The Guardian adds more to the story: Elon Musk dropped out of Stanford to work on his Zip2 company which is not allowed for foreign students. Musk himself said "I was legally there, but I was meant to be doing student work." In other occasions, Musk said that he had a "student work visa." Elon Musk's brother Kimbal Musk said that their company's investors "realized that we were illegal immigrants." In general, Musk's case is ambiguous and he doesn't mention it much himself. Musk's documents are held by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services and they are not released publicly for privacy. Jennifer Minear, an immigration attorney who specializes in employment, says that without the actual documents, it's impossible to know his immigration path without those government documents. Minear mentions that "it’s possible he followed the requirements of his student visa, or that he was granted an exception allowing him to work." Therefore due to the unavailability of official documents, it's not possible to accurately determine if Musk was working legally or illegally in the United States.

Sources:
https://apnews.com/article/biden-elon-musk-student-visa-work-fbd836b3de358148cda16c273ff904c4
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/10/26/elon-musk-immigration-status/
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/oct/26/elon-musk-illegal-immigration
https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/29/us/elon-musk-immigration-gray-area-cec/index.html
https://www.ap.org/about/

Comments

This is a great fact check that is supported by various sources which really improves your credibility. I also applaud your use of direct quotations to further improve your argument. I agree, it is ambiguous and without proper documentation, it is difficult to say.

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I also read on Twitter that he admitted to purposefully dropping out of Stanford and never even had the intention to study. Your quotes and sources are very reliable therefore putting this claim in the grey area in terms of accuracy due to information available.

Answer 2

The claim is that Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, worked in the US illegally. While campaigning in Pittsburg President Biden said "He was supposed to be i school when he came on a student visa. He wasn't in school. He was violating the law. And he's talking about all these illegals coming our way?" The Washington Post reports that Musk never enrolled in courses and instead worked at his startup company. CNN reports that Musk once made claims about his immigration status as a "grey area", but Musk has declined to comment. CNN also reports that a past CEO of this startup has said that investors worried Musk could be deported. Elon Musk himself posted a series of responses on the platform X, previously referred to as Twitter, claiming that he was on a J-1 visa. Though CNN questioned if this was possible. Overall, these claims are most likely true as a number of sources have reported on them showing that they were true, though these sources a typically liberal sources, and there is not much reporting from more conservative sources. 

Sources:

https://apnews.com/article/biden-elon-musk-student-visa-work-fbd836b3de358148cda16c273ff904c4

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/10/26/elon-musk-immigration-status/

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/oct/26/elon-musk-illegal-immigration

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/28/us/elon-musk-immigration-washington-post-cec/index.html