WASHINGTON: Elon Musk, the billionaire businessman born in South Africa, reportedly worked illegally in the U.S. for a brief period during the 1990s while launching a startup, according to the Washington Post.
Musk denied these claims on Sunday, stating that he was legally allowed to work in the U.S. at that time. “I was on a J-1 visa that transitioned to an H-1B,” he wrote on his social media platform X. The J-1 Exchange Visitor visa permits foreign students to engage in academic training in the U.S., while the H-1B visa is designated for temporary employment.
The Washington Post reported that Musk moved to Palo Alto, California, in 1995 to attend Stanford University but never officially enrolled in his graduate program. Instead, he focused on developing the software company Zip2, which sold for approximately $300 million in 1999.
Two immigration law experts quoted by the Post noted that Elon Musk would have needed to be enrolled in a full course of study to maintain valid work authorization as a student.
In a 2020 podcast referenced by the Post, Elon Musk said, “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 of Musk who remembered him receiving his U.S. work authorization around 1997.
Additionally, Musk has endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in the upcoming U.S. election on November 5, where Trump is set to face Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in what polls indicate is a close race.
