Elon Musk's Brief Illegal Work History in the U.S.

Date: WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Washington Post reported on Saturday that South African-born billionaire businessman Elon Musk worked illegally in the United States during a brief period in the 1990s while building a startup company.

Musk arrived in Palo Alto, California, in 1995 to attend Stanford University but never enrolled in his graduate studies program. Instead, he developed the software company Zip2, which sold in 1999 for around $300 million.

Two immigration law experts quoted by the Post said Musk would have needed to be enrolled in a full course of study in order to maintain a valid work authorization as a student.

Musk did not respond to requests for comment sent to four of his companies – SpaceX, Tesla, the social media company X, and The Boring Company – nor did Musk's lawyer Alex Spiro.

In a 2020 podcast cited by the Post, Musk mentioned: "I was legally there, but I was meant to be doing student work. I was allowed to do work sort of supporting whatever."

The Washington Post also cited two former colleagues who recalled Musk receiving his U.S. work authorization in or around 1997.

In recent news, Musk has endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in the Nov. 5 U.S. election. Trump, known for his tough stance on immigration during his presidency from 2017 to 2021, promises the biggest deportation effort in U.S. history if reelected.