ALBAWABA - President Joe Biden criticized Tesla CEO Elon Musk at a recent campaign speech in Pittsburgh, pointing out alleged inconsistencies in Musk's prior legal status.
Biden made his remarks following a Washington Post article that claimed Musk, a South African native, had temporarily engaged in unlawful employment in the United States in the 1990s while on a student visa.
The post report coincides with Musk's increasing political clout in the United States, where he has publicly expressed anti-immigration views and backed Republican former president and presidential candidate Donald Trump.
According to the Washington Post investigation, Musk came to Palo Alto in 1995 with the intention of enrolling at Stanford University while on a student visa. However, it is claimed that he never attended courses, preferring to focus on his startup then, Zip2, which he sold for $300 million four years later, as reported by The Guardian.
The report, which cited court and corporate records, said that Musk's immigration status at the time was in a “legal grey area.” On his owned social media platform X (previously Twitter), Musk denied these allegations, saying, “I was in fact allowed to work in the US,” referring to Biden's criticism as false.
Recently, Musk has raised calls for more stringent immigration laws, often voicing these opinions with his sizable social media following. According to Bloomberg News, Musk's postings have apparently gotten over 10 billion views this year, with immigration laws being one of the most talked-about subjects on his account.
Musk, a Trump admirer, has even repeated the previous president's rhetoric, calling the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border a “zombie apocalypse” and accusing Democrats of "importing voters" via short-term immigration policies.
As one of the largest contributors to the Republican Party this campaign season, Musk has pledged over $70 million to assist presidential candidate Donald Trump and other GOP candidates win on November 5, AP reports. In return, Trump has promised to include Musk in his administration if he is elected next month.
