Is Elon Musk American? Citizenship in focus as he resigns from Trump administration

As soon as billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that he is leaving the Trump administration after leading a tumultuous efficiency drive, people began searching to find out whether the billionaire holds American citizenship.

Earlier on Wednesday, Musk took to his social media platform X to thank President Donald Trump as his time as a special government employee with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) comes to an end.

This article outlines Musk's path to US citizenship, his legal status, why he moved to the United States and the citizenship status of his children. 

Elon Musk is not a natural-born American — here’s why

Elon Musk was born on 28 June 1971 in Pretoria, South Africa, so he is not a natural-born citizen of the United States. His mother, Maye Musk, is Canadian, which allowed Elon to obtain Canadian citizenship in 1989 when he was 17 years old. This helped him move to North America for his studies and eventually to the United States.

Read | Elon Musk leaving Trump administration, Internet says ‘Anyway, DOGE was a failure’

How Elon Musk came to America: The student visa that changed his life

In 1989, Musk moved to Canada and began studying at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. In 1992, he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania in the United States using a J-1 student exchange visa. This move was a major turning point in his life, allowing him to enter the growing tech scene in Silicon Valley.

Elon Musk’s path to becoming a US citizen

Musk became a naturalised US citizen in 2002. He went through several stages of visa changes, including obtaining a work visa after university. In an interview with CNN, Musk mentioned that his early jobs sometimes involved “grey areas” when it came to work permits — something that many immigrants in tech faced in the 1990s. Despite the challenges, he eventually became a US citizen through legal means.

Read | Elon Musk leaves Trump administration LIVE: Tesla chief says ‘… time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end’

Why did Elon Musk move to the United States?

Elon Musk has often said he was drawn to the United States because of its strong focus on business and innovation. After moving there, he co-founded several well-known companies, including:

Zip2 (an online business directory)

X.com (which later became PayPal)

Tesla, Inc.

SpaceX

Neuralink

The Boring Company 

xAI

These companies helped make Musk one of the most influential tech figures of the 21st century.

Read | Elon Musk claims Starship can reach Mars in six months — Here's how

Is Elon Musk banned from South Africa?

No official record or reliable report that says Elon Musk is banned from South Africa. He still holds South African citizenship, along with Canadian and American citizenship. Musk has spoken about leaving South Africa partly to avoid mandatory military service, which was required of white males during the apartheid era.

What is the citizenship status of Elon Musk’s children?

Elon Musk has 14 children with four different partners, according to an article in People. Most of his children are American citizens because they were born in the United States. They may also be eligible for Canadian citizenship through their mothers. While Musk’s family life often makes headlines, it does not affect his legal or official status in any way.