NEW YORK — President Joe Biden slammed Elon Musk for his hypocrisy on immigration after reports surfaced that the Tesla CEO once worked illegally in the United States.
Musk, who was born in South Africa, has denied the allegations.
“The richest man in the world became an illegal worker here. No, I’m serious. He should have been in school when he came on a student visa. He wasn’t in school. He broke the law. He’s talking about all this illegal activity coming our way? Campaigning at a union hall in Pittsburgh on Saturday. Biden said while doing so.
The Washington Post reported Musk worked in the country illegally while on a student visa.
Citing newspaper, company documents, former business associates and court documents, Musk came to Palo Alto, California in 1995 for a graduate program at Stanford University “but did not enroll in courses, instead working on his startup.”
In response to a video post of Biden’s comments, Musk wrote on X: “Actually I’m allowed to work in America.” Musk added, “The Biden puppet is lying.”
Investors in Musk’s company Zip2, concerned about the possibility of their founder being deported, reportedly gave him a deadline to get a work visa.
The newspaper cited a 2005 email Musk sent to his Tesla co-founders in which he admitted he was not authorized to be in the United States when he started Zip2.
According to the account, the email was submitted as evidence in the now-closed California defamation case and claimed that Musk had applied to Stanford so he could be in the country legally.
Kasthuri is the richest person in the world today. He has given more than $70 million to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and other GOP candidates on Nov. 5, and is one of the party’s biggest donors this campaign season.
He headlined the final race to the White House, often echoing Trump’s dark anti-immigration rhetoric.
Trump has promised to give Musk a role in his administration if he wins next month.
Messages sent to X and Tesla seeking comment from Musk were not immediately responded to.
