From Outlaw to Icon: How Elon Musk Defied the Odds as America’s Most Unlikely Success Story

After dropping out of graduate school, I started a company while staying in the country illegally.
Declares support for ‘anti-immigrant’ Trump without acknowledging illegal stay
Biden: “Clearly violating the law”

▲ While former President Donald Trump (left), the Republican presidential candidate, is giving a speech at the Butler Farm Show in Pennsylvania, USA on the 5th (local time), Tesla CEO Elon Musk is dancing to liven up the atmosphere of the scene. Butler (USA)/Reuters Yonhap News

It has been revealed that Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who publicly supports former President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for the U.S. presidential election and is also actively in favor of ‘anti-immigration policies’, was an illegal alien in the past.

On the 26th (local time), the Washington Post (WP) reported that South African-born Musk resided illegally in the United States when he founded the startup Zip2.

According to WP, Musk lived in Palo Alto, California to attend graduate school at Stanford in 1995, but did not enroll in graduate school. Instead, he stayed as an illegal immigrant during that period and started a company.

Musk, who was a foreigner under U.S. immigration law, had to have enrolled in a regular graduate school program to receive a valid work permit as a student. However, Musk dropped out two days after the start of the graduate school semester. He has been building his own startup business illegally in the United States without a valid work visa.

Adam Copen, an immigration lawyer, said, “Musk had to complete regular courses at Stanford to receive a work permit as a student,” and added, “It would be a clear violation if he had not gone to school.” Another immigration attorney pointed out, “Foreign students like Musk cannot drop out of school to start a company even if they are not paid.”

Derek Proudian, a Ziptu board member at the time and current CEO, testified that “Musk’s immigration status at the time did not make it legal for him to run a company in the United States.” He added, “It was not made public because the investors did not want the founder to be expelled,” adding, “I want to resolve that issue even now.”

The company that Musk ran while staying illegally has become the stepping stone to his current ‘road to success.’ In 1999, Musk sold his startup investment for about $300 million (471.7 billion won). Using this money as a foundation, he became an early investor and chairman of electric car company Tesla, and also founded SpaceX, a private space development company. WP evaluated Musk as the most ‘successful immigrant’ in the United States.

Meanwhile, Musk has publicly addressed his immigration myths and refuses to acknowledge his illegal stay. Previously, in 2020, Musk claimed, “I received a student and work visa after dropping out of Stanford,” and “it was a legal stay.” However, because immigration records are not made public in the United States, Musk’s legal status at the time cannot be confirmed.

The fact that Musk stayed in the country illegally also conflicts with former President Trump’s pledge. Trump is promising a ‘hard-line immigration policy’, saying, “Illegal immigrants commit crimes in the United States.” Previously, in July, Musk publicly expressed his support for Trump and donated a large amount of money to America PAC, Trump’s super PAC (political fund raising group).

At an event held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on this day, President Joe Biden criticized Musk, saying, “Musk, who announced his support for Trump, was actually living as an illegal immigrant.” He then emphasized, “Musk should have been at school when he came on a student visa, but he did not do so,” and “clearly violated the law.”