A recent report from The Washington Post has unveiled significant concerns regarding Elon Musk’s immigration status when he first arrived in the United States. The billionaire entrepreneur, originally from South Africa, admitted in an email that he had “no legal right to stay” in the country after abandoning his studies to start a company that later sold for over $300 million.
Musk’s immigration journey raises troubling questions, especially considering his recent support for Donald Trump and his accusations against Democrats of encouraging illegal immigration. Bloomberg has described him as a prominent promoter of anti-immigrant conspiracies within the Republican Party.
Musk’s situation is compounded by his brother, Kimbal, who also faced immigration issues. According to immigration expert Ira Kurzban, Kimbal’s actions upon entering the U.S. could be classified as “fraud upon entry.”
The report highlights that Musk’s first company, Global Link Information Network, which later became Zip2, was founded while he was still on a student visa. Investors were reportedly worried about the possibility of Musk being “deported” and sought advice from an immigration attorney.
Musk, who became a Canadian citizen at age 18 through his mother, initially studied in Canada before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania. He moved to Palo Alto in 1995 to attend Stanford University, which would have qualified him for another student visa. However, Musk never enrolled at Stanford, rendering his student visa invalid. Instead, he focused on launching his start-up, a move deemed illegal by former Department of Justice immigration attorney Leon Fresco.
“If you engage in any activity that generates revenue, you risk legal consequences,” Fresco explained.
Musk reportedly brought Kimbal on board to assist with the company. However, Kimbal has acknowledged lying to border agents after being previously denied entry due to working illegally in the U.S. During a return trip from Canada, he misled officials about attending a David Letterman show to justify his visit, describing it as crucial for meeting with investors.
“This constitutes fraud upon entry,” Kurzban said. “Such actions would render him inadmissible to the U.S. unless penalties were waived.” Furthermore, employing someone without legal authorization is a federal offense.
The Musk brothers’ immigration status concerned investors at Mohr Davidow Ventures. When they invested $3 million in 1996, the agreement included a stipulation requiring the brothers to obtain legal status within 45 days.
Derek Proudian, a board member of Zip2, expressed that investors were apprehensive about Musk’s legal status. “We were concerned about the risk of deportation,” he noted. Another anonymous investor admitted they had not considered Musk’s legal residency before investing.
The Post reported that the attorney representing the company advised the Musk brothers to omit details about their leadership roles and to remove U.S. addresses from their resumes.
In a 1999 sale to Compaq for $305 million, Musk earned $22 million, propelling him toward his future endeavors with PayPal, Tesla, and SpaceX. He became a U.S. citizen in 2002. Any false statements regarding past immigration status during citizenship applications can result in legal repercussions, but it remains unclear if Musk provided inaccurate information.
In a 2005 email, Musk acknowledged his lack of legal status, saying, “I didn’t really care much for the degree, but I had no money for a lab and no legal right to stay in the country.”
During a 2013 panel discussion, Kimbal Musk admitted that both he and Elon had been “illegal immigrants,” to which Elon responded that it was a “gray area.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to Musk’s attorney, Alex Spiro, for comments regarding the report. However, neither Musk, his attorney, nor the manager of Musk’s family office have responded to inquiries.
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