President Joe Biden criticized Elon Musk for his alleged hypocrisy on immigration after reports surfaced that the Tesla CEO worked illegally in the United States. Musk, who was born in South Africa, has denied these allegations.
During a campaign event in Pittsburgh at a union hall, Biden exclaimed, “The wealthiest man in the world turned out to be an illegal worker here. No, I’m serious. He was supposed to be in school when he came on a student visa. He wasn’t in school. He was violating the law. And he’s talking about all these illegals coming our way?”
The Washington Post reported that Musk worked illegally in the country while on a student visa. According to the newspaper, Musk arrived in Palo Alto, California in 1995 for a graduate program at Stanford University but never actually enrolled in any courses, opting instead to work on his startup.
In response to Biden’s comments, Musk took to X and wrote, “I was in fact allowed to work in the US.” He also accused Biden of lying, referring to him as a “puppet.”
Investors in Musk’s company, Zip2, expressed concerns about the possibility of Musk being deported and gave him a deadline to obtain a work visa. The report also mentioned a 2005 email from Musk to his Tesla co-founders, where he acknowledged that he did not have authorization to be in the U.S. when he started Zip2.
Musk reportedly applied to Stanford in order to stay in the country legally, as per the email submitted as evidence in a California defamation lawsuit that is now closed.
Despite his controversial past, Musk is now the world’s richest man. He has pledged over $70 million to support Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and other GOP candidates leading up to the election on Nov. 5. Musk has been actively participating in campaign events, aligning himself with Trump’s stance on immigration.
Trump has promised Musk a role in his administration if he emerges victorious in the upcoming election.
Attempts to reach Musk for comment through X and Tesla have not yielded any immediate responses.