Is Elon Musk a U.S. citizen? The SpaceX billionaire is now a government employee
Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder and South Africa-born billionaire Elon Musk is officially a “special” federal employee, which allows him to work for the federal government with or without pay for a limited amount of time.
And while there are some exceptions, you generally have to be a U.S. citizen to work for the federal government, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
Since supporting President Trump’s 2024 campaign, flurries of comments on social media posts about him often accuse Musk of not having U.S. citizenship.
Following the news of his new job and due to his and President Donald Trump’s strong views on immigration, some are asking: Is Elon Musk a U.S. citizen? The short answer: yes.
Here’s where Elon Musk’s citizenship status stands, which countries he grew up in and where he currently lives.
Is Elon Musk a U.S. citizen?
“Musk has been a U.S. citizen since 2002 according to a 2023 biography of Musk by journalist Walter Isaacson,” Politifact and CNN reported.
Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa, in 1971. His father, Errol Musk, is a South African businessman, politician, mine owner, consultant, and property developer. His mother, Maye Musk, is Canadian. Through her, Elon Musk also has Canadian citizenship.
In his college years, Musk came to the U.S. on an Exchange Visitor Visa, which allows visa holders to teach, lecture, instruct, study, conduct research, consult, receive graduate training and more.
In October, the Washington Post reported that Musk was — at one point — working illegally during his startup days in Silicon Valley, while he and his brother were creating PayPal. President Biden later echoed the Post’s report, which went viral on X, Musk’s social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Musk fired back on X, saying that he “was in fact allowed to work in the U.S.,” and described his immigration journey as a “gray area," CNN reported.
Regardless of whether or not he was working illegally at the start of his career, Musk is now a U.S. citizen and maintains his primary residence in the U.S.
Where did Elon Musk grow up?
Musk was mostly raised in South Africa. He moved to Canada when he was 17 to study at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
In 1992, he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where he graduated with bachelor’s degrees in economics and physics.
Does Elon Musk live in America? Where does Elon Musk currently live?
Yes, Elon Musk lives in the U.S. Currently, his main residence is in Boca Chica, Texas, the location of SpaceX Headquarters.
He has a tiny home and a small two-bedroom home in the area, according to Architectural Digest.
“In 2021, Musk revealed in a post on X that he was living in a three-bedroom ranch, also in Boca Chica. He claimed to be renting the $50,000 property from SpaceX,” Architectural Digest reported in January.
“Like his tiny home, the property is a short drive from his company’s beachfront launch site, SpaceX Starbase.”
Is Elon Musk the richest man in the world?
According to Forbes’ real-time billionaires list, Musk is the richest man (and billionaire) in the world as of Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. He ranks just slightly above Jeff Bezos.
Musk is worth more than $400 billion, according to Reuters.