Elon Musk — Who Rails Against "Illegals In America" — Worked As Illegal Alien In The U.S.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk — the world's wealthiest man — has been vocal in his criticism of undocumented immigrants since becoming one of former President Donald Trump’s biggest donors and campaign surrogates.

Elon and his brother were technically illegal immigrants for much of 1996. I Photo: Elon Musk X

However, a new report reveals that he launched his career in the U.S. without legal status, Carl Gibson reported for AlterNet.

The Washington Post is now reporting that Musk was illegally staying in the U.S. on a student visa despite having dropped out of school.

While Musk, who is from South Africa, emigrated to attend Stanford University, he called his department chair shortly after the fall 1995 semester began to inform him that he wouldn’t be attending classes.

At that point, Musk was legally obligated to leave the U.S., according to the Post. Instead, he overstayed his visa while building his first company, Zip2 (originally called the Global Link Information Network).

Elon and his brother were technically illegal immigrants for much of 1996.

This is significant because Elon Musk has used his social media platform, X, to frequently attack and spread disinformation about undocumented immigrants. "Illegals in America can get bank loans, mortgages, insurance, driver's licenses, free healthcare (California & New York), and in-state college tuition," Musk tweeted in February.

"What's the point of being a citizen if an illegal gets all the benefits but doesn't pay taxes or do jury duty?"

The report also reveals that Musk drove a car during the period when he was in the U.S. illegally, suggesting he would have needed both a driver's license and auto insurance. This report confirms what Kimbal Musk said in a 2013 interview, when he stated that he and his brother "were illegal immigrants."