Elon Musk was an "unauthorized worker" when he started his career in the United States, according to Biden.

Elon Musk was an "unauthorized worker" when he started his career in the United States, according to Biden.
Elon Musk was an "unauthorized worker" when he started his career in the United States, according to Biden.
  • Elon Musk, now a Republican megadonor, began his long career in the U.S. as an "illegal worker," according to President Joe Biden.
  • The Washington Post report revealed that Biden made comments about Musk following correspondence, legal records, and multiple individuals who helped Musk obtain a work visa in 1996, despite already working in the US without one.
  • Donald Trump has frequently utilized Musk as a campaign surrogate during his race against Vice President Kamala Harris.

On Saturday, President Joe Biden accused Elon Musk, a Republican megadonor and Trump campaign surrogate, of hypocrisy on immigration, stating that Musk began his successful career in the U.S. as an "undocumented worker" before becoming the wealthiest man in the world.

At a campaign event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, the president made remarks supporting Democrats.

Biden stated that Musk, the wealthiest man in the world, was an illegal worker when he was in the country.

Biden stated that the individual who came on a student visa was supposed to be in school, but he wasn't. As a result, he was breaking the law. Biden then went on to discuss the issue of "illegals" entering the country.

Trump and Republicans were criticized by him for not passing legislation to address the border issue. He stated that the number of illegal immigrants crossing the border has decreased since his third year as President.

The Trump campaign did not promptly react to CNBC's inquiry about Biden's comments.

In Pennsylvania, Musk recently hosted a series of "town hall" events to persuade voters to support Trump and his policies. Additionally, he incentivized his supporters in swing states by offering $1 million lottery-style prizes to those who signed a petition promoting his pro-Trump group, America PAC.

The Peterson Institute for International Economics has analyzed Trump's new immigration policy proposals, which include plans for a massive deportation operation, ending birthright citizenship, and revoking visas of pro-Palestinian protestors, among other measures.

The Washington Post report revealed that Biden made comments about Musk, his alliance with Trump, and his hypocrisy on immigration after discovering that Musk had obtained a work visa in 1996 with the help of multiple people, despite already working in the US without one.

In the mid-90s, Musk arrived in the U.S. with the intention of attending grad school at Stanford. However, he did not enroll in the program and instead started a venture-backed startup called Zip2 with his brother.

Investors in Musk's first company were concerned about his potential deportation and set a deadline for him to obtain a work visa.

In 1999, Zip2 was sold for approximately $300 million, providing Elon Musk with the funds to invest in and become chairman of Tesla, as well as to launch his space exploration company, SpaceX, which has since become a significant U.S. defense contractor.

Today, Forbes reports that Tesla CEO Elon Musk's net worth is approximately $274 billion, making him the world's wealthiest person on paper.

In late 2022, Elon Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion using his considerable wealth.

Since the rebranding of X on the platform, Musk has consistently asserted in posts viewed by his large online following that undocumented immigrants and "open borders" are detrimental to the United States.

Vice President Kamala Harris's potential victory in the presidential election has been the subject of a conspiracy theory promoted by conservative groups, which claims that noncitizens are systematically voting in U.S. elections. This false claim has been shared by him.

It is illegal for noncitizens to register or vote in federal elections in the U.S., as it is a federal crime and a violation of every state's laws.

The Brennan Center for Justice has found that fraud is extremely rare, voter impersonation is almost non-existent, and many instances of alleged fraud are actually errors made by voters or administrators. This is also true for mail ballots, which are secure and crucial for holding a safe election during the coronavirus pandemic.

— CNBC's Rebecca Picciotto contributed to this report.

by Lora Kolodny

Politics