Elon Musk Working Without Legal Status to Shaping America’s Tech Landscape

[Social Media]

 

Long before he became a household name, South African-born Elon Musk began his entrepreneurial journey in the United States with a dream and a tenuous legal footing. Musk, now a vocal supporter of stricter immigration policies and a major donor to former President Donald Trump, once navigated the complexities of immigration law himself. According to former associates, court records, and documents obtained by *The Washington Post*, Musk worked without legal authorization in his early career, helping to establish what would later become the highly lucrative company Zip2.

 

In 1995, Musk arrived in Palo Alto, California, on a student visa after enrolling in a graduate program at Stanford University. However, he quickly decided against pursuing his studies, opting instead to build his tech startup. Leon Fresco, a former Justice Department immigration litigator, explained that foreign students are not legally permitted to work on business ventures if they have left their studies, even if they are unpaid. Despite his ambitious pursuit of a tech empire, Musk lacked the legal basis to work in the United States.

 

Zip2, initially known as Global Link Information Network, received substantial venture capital funding in 1996, including a $3 million investment from Mohr Davidow Ventures. However, the funding came with a stipulation: Musk, his brother Kimbal, and another associate needed to secure legal work status within 45 days, or the firm would be able to withdraw its investment. Derek Proudian, a Zip2 board member and later its CEO, recalled that the board’s priority was “We don’t want our founder being deported.” Proudian and other investors feared Musk’s precarious immigration status could derail the company’s prospects for growth and eventual public offering.

 

Throughout his career, Musk has often portrayed his immigrant experience as one marked by personal sacrifice and resilience. He has even referenced the gray legal area he operated in at the time, once joking about it in 2013. In a 2020 podcast, he stated that he was “legally there” but working in a “student work” capacity after deferring his Stanford enrollment. However, legal experts and immigration laws at the time indicate that Musk, without proper status, should have left the United States immediately upon withdrawing from Stanford. His decision to stay and build Zip2 was technically unauthorized.

 

In a rare admission in 2005, Musk disclosed in an email to Tesla co-founders that he had no legal right to remain in the country when founding Zip2. He explained that applying to Stanford had been his way to solve both his need for legal status and his financial limitations. “Actually, I didn’t really care much for the degree,” Musk wrote in the email, “but I had no money for a lab and no legal right to stay in the country, so that seemed like a good way to solve both issues.”

 

This early chapter of Musk’s career highlights the contradictions between his current stance on immigration and his own past. Recently, he has used his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to amplify Republican viewpoints on “open borders” and undocumented immigration, sharing these with over 200 million followers. However, his immigrant story reveals a more complex narrative. His brother Kimbal has also openly spoken about their experiences as immigrants without legal status, calling it a testament to the challenges talented foreigners face under the current U.S. immigration system. “We were illegal immigrants,” Kimbal Musk said, summarizing his experience as part of a broken system.

 

Elon Musk’s journey from an immigrant without legal status to one of America’s most successful tech figures underscores both the obstacles and opportunities present in the U.S. for ambitious newcomers. The story of Musk’s early struggles complicates his present-day advocacy for restrictive immigration policies, highlighting an irony that the world’s wealthiest person—and one of America’s most influential immigrants—began his career on uncertain legal ground.

 

 

Based on a report from the WP 2024-10-28

 

 

 

[ignore it]

More fake news bunk from Biden.

 

Already "debunked"

[black tabby12345]

The Richest & Most Influential  Illegal Alien in US history?

[MalcolmB]

He must use the same shampoo as Trump.

[jippytum]

At least he provided for himself and didn't rely on free handouts unlike todays illegal immigrants

[Chomper Higgot]

15 minutes ago, black tabby12345 said:

The Richest & Most Influential  Illegal Alien in US history?

Certainly the one in receipt of the most federal funds.

[MalcolmB]

5 minutes ago, jippytum said:

At least he provided for himself and didn't rely on free handouts unlike todays illegal immigrants

 

 

8 hours ago, Social Media said:

but I had no money for a lab and no legal right to stay in the country, so that seemed like a good way to solve both issues.”

Deport the punk.

[Chomper Higgot]

7 minutes ago, jippytum said:

At least he provided for himself and didn't rely on free handouts unlike todays illegal immigrants

Erm:

 

https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hy-musk-subsidies-20150531-story.html

[Yagoda]

He was a hero to the pandering Leftist hypocrites until he decided that freedom was more important.

 

Just like Hillary, who took cash contributions from Hitler. So did Schumer. Shows how the Dems are nothing but Nazis

[Dave0206]

Good for me but not for thee

 

[rovinman]

13 hours ago, Social Media said:

In a rare admission in 2005, Musk disclosed in an email to Tesla co-founders that he had no legal right to remain in the country when founding Zip2. He explained that applying to Stanford had been his way to solve both his need for legal status and his financial limitations. “Actually, I didn’t really care much for the degree,” Musk wrote in the email, “but I had no money for a lab and no legal right to stay in the country, so that seemed like a good way to solve both issues.”

 

Always the one to find the loopholes, He"s actually working the Trump Crowd, as well as  Hating the Biden Crowd  !  ie. He"s in it for himself !
He IGNORES  everybody who says it CAN"T BE DONE and goes ahead and does it !

eg.  Electric Vehicles, Space X Reuse-able Rockets, Starlink Global communications, FSD, Optimus Robots  ! etc. etc. !
I think that you"ll find he"s in the top element of the WEF, and even Schwab had better watch out, otherwise he"ll be trampled underfoot by Musk  !

President of the WORLD  ?  ?  ?

[pattayasan]

Elon Musk Could Have US Citizenship Revoked If He Lied on Immigration Forms

The richest man in the world appears to have worked in the US without authorization. According to experts, if he did so and lied about it as part of the immigration process, he could be denaturalized.

 

https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-citizenship-revoked-denaturalized/