‘Deport Elon Musk’: Trump ally Steve Bannon demands probe into Tesla CEO’s immigration status
Steve Bannon, former White House chief strategist, on Thursday told The New York Times that the Trump administration should investigate Elon Musk’s immigration status and deport the billionaire. This comes as the Tesla chief accused the president of being ungrateful, further claiming that the Republican couldn’t have won the 2024 election ‘without me’.
Elon Musk and Donald Trump clashed over the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ on Thursday(AFP)
“They should initiate a formal investigation of his immigration status because I am of the strong belief that he is an illegal alien, and he should be deported from the country immediately,” he said in a phone interview with the publication.
Bannon further added that the government should also investigate Elon Musk’s alleged drug use, as reported by the NYT recently.
Read More: ‘Such ingratitude’: Elon Musk claims Trump would’ve lost election without him
Born in Pretoria, South Africa, on June 28, 1971, Musk acquired Canadian citizenship in 1988 through his mother, Maye Musk, a Canadian-born model. He moved to Canada in 1989, studied at Queen’s University, and transferred to the University of Pennsylvania in 1992, earning bachelor’s degrees in physics and economics by 1997.
The 53-year-old entered the US on an Exchange Visitor Visa (J-1) or F-1 student visa to attend UPenn. He claimed a J-1 visa allowed limited work, but experts note F-1 visas are more common for university study.
Elon Musk was admitted to Stanford’s graduate program in 1995 but never enrolled, instead founding Zip2, an online business directory, with his brother Kimbal, per washingtonpost.com. A 2005 email revealed Musk applied to Stanford to stay legally, as he “had no legal right to stay in the country.”
Trump vs Musk feud
President Trump threatened to cut off government contracts with billionaire Elon Musk’s companies, and Musk suggested Trump should be impeached. The president started the feud in remarks at the Oval Office. Musk responded to the Republicans’ claim.
