Elon Musk worked illegally in the United States at the beginning of his career, according to the Washington Post

Elon Musk -Owner of SpaceX, Tesla and X (formerly Twitter)- I worked illegally In the United States at the beginning of his career after leaving the graduate program there caaccording to former partners, court documents and business filings he obtained The Washington Post.

This revelation is relevant because Musk has become one of the largest donors and supporters of the former Republican president and current nominee Donald TrumpAnd support his rhetoric against illegal immigration.

In recent months, Musk He amplified Trump’s false theories about illegal immigrants, accused them of destroying the country, and spread those views among his more than 200 million followers on X, a platform he acquired in 2022 and renamed X instead of Twitter.

according to The Washington PostMusk had no legal right to work during construction Postal code2the company he sold for about $300 million in 1999, which was his starting point. Tesla And other companies that made him the richest person in the world.

Musk came to Palo Alto in 1995 to pursue a graduate program at Stanford University, but never enrolled, devoting himself instead to his business ventures.

This, according to legal experts they consulted mailleaving him without a legal basis to remain in the country, because, by not attending college, he would have had to leave the United States under the immigration laws of the time. In any case, he would not have been allowed to work.

As he pointed out The Washington Post Fresh liona former Justice Department lawyer, says foreign students who come to the United States on a student visa cannot abandon their studies to start a company, even if they do not receive immediate payments at the time.

What did Elon Musk say?

Elon Musk He has never publicly admitted that he worked without legal status. In a 2013 interview, he joked that he was in a “gray area” early in his career, and in 2020, he said he obtained a “student work visa” after leaving Stanford.

“I was there legally, but I was supposed to be doing study-related work,” Musk said in a 2020 podcast.

Neither Musk nor his lawyers Alex SpiroThe head of Musk’s family office did not respond to requests for comment. The Washington Post To get a response to these discoveries. (Effy)