Undocumented workers helped build Elon Musk's business empire
Photo credit: A Tesla Cybertruck faces the SpaceX Starship as it sits on a launch pad at Starbase near Boca Chica, Texas, on October 12, 2024, ahead of the Starship Flight 5 test. Sergio Flores/AFP via Getty Images
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been a harsh critic of "open borders" and is making headlines for demonizing undocumented people in the United States. However, per a new report from Bloomberg Businessweek, he has benefited from the labor of undocumented workers for years, as they have regularly worked at Tesla's gigafactory in Austin.
Labor performed by undocumented immigrants started shortly after the Tesla gigafactory broke ground in 2020. Construction contractors were reportedly told to check for authorization, but Tesla didn't ensure contractors followed instructions.
As a result, undocumented workers were employed by outside companies to work at Tesla and SpaceX facilities. Some undocumented workers who spoke with Bloomberg reported unfavorable working conditions, an issue that labor groups have kept an eye on.
One worker identified only as Cristy is being represented by the Workers Defense Project after she was fired from a Tesla subcontractor. Her termination came after she had a heatstroke and fainted at work, later filing complaints with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration over alleged unsafe working conditions and retaliation.
Tesla and SpaceX’s reliance on some undocumented workers isn't particularly unique in Texas, where more than 8 percent of the workforce is undocumented and construction is the industry with the highest share of immigrant workers.
But Musk, who spent at least $260 million to support President Donald Trump's re-election campaign as he proposed restrictive immigration policies, has become increasingly vocal on immigration issues even as his companies grow in Texas.
Tesla's expansions have included kicking off operations at its Robstown refinery and adding millions of square feet to its Austin factory while SpaceX is adding another facility in South Texas with the help of taxpayer dollars.
The billionaire’s stances on immigration have attracted attention. In October, the Washington Post reported that Musk, who was born in South Africa, did not have the legal right to work while building Zip2, a company that sold for about $300 million in 1999. Following that, Musk stirred debate over his championing of H-1B visas, a program for workers in specialty occupations that Trump previously attacked .
Ultimately, Musk has benefited from his companies' projects being completed at a faster pace thanks to the work of undocumented workers; one former Tesla employee told Bloomberg that under regular construction timetables, the Austin factory might have taken seven years to complete.
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been a harsh critic of "open borders" and is making headlines for demonizing undocumented people in the United States. However, per a new report from Bloomberg Businessweek he has benefited from the labor of undocumented workers for years, as they have regularly worked at Tesla's gigafactory in Austin. Labor performed by undocumented immigrants started shortly after the Tesla gigafactory broke ground in 2020
He has been a huge advocate of legal immigration, calling it essential to the survival of the United States as developed nations all face population collapse problems.
Actual tweets:
Correct!
He's been a big advocate of legal immigration-- while he himself hires illegal immigrants.
There's a word for that.
Can you guess what that word is?
(Hint: It starts with the letter "H".
The article you posted here makes it clear that he is not hiring the illegal workers himself. They were hired by some of the construction companies building some of his facilities in Texas despite their clear instruction to check for proper authorization. Ultimately it is the responsibility of the contractor or construction company for not following the law or hiring workers who do not have proper authorization to work in the US. The same will hold true of farming and other industries across many states, and those cities or counties with "sanctuary" policies in place, who knowingly hire those without proper authorization or who make it a practice to look the other way.
To the extent that Musk's companies made it clear in their contracts with said construction companies that they are responsible for legally hiring such employees and arranging proper working conditions, those responsibilities fall on those actually doing the hiring. As the article indicates, those contractors were indeed told to check for proper authorization, so it would be interesting to examine the complete wording of those contracts, the paperwork the contractors provided showing compliance, and what sort of enforcement was in place.
And I posted it.
Followed by the letter "y".
Your proof on this?
It's called the Texas Two Step for unleashing prosperity. /S
Nobody in Texas checks these things out.
That's life here. Wink, wink.
Texas long had rural "Peonage Systems" which inspired The Green Book. It warned black and brown travelers of the rural counties to never ever travel through because they were likely to be charged with made up crimes they did not commit, sentenced to work off fines and then were held in labor bondage as rented laborers until they were completely paid up. Except, the farmers and ranchers leasing convicted laborers from local law enforcement could legally charge their workers more for room and board than they paid against their accounts thus keeping them forever owing. Local lawmen and sheriffs would track down and return laborers who tried to escape...
Not here in California either. Those who create the fake documents that illegals use to gain employment, those employers who know the documents are fake, or who look the other way, and the sanctuary cities in this and other states that encourage illegal immigrants to come and work, are all breaking the law every bit as much as the undocumented worker him/herself. In the case of contractors whose legal agreements with their clients include language to provide proof that only documented workers are used on a project, but then turn around and ignore or fake that documentation, are also breaking contractual laws in addition to the Federal immigration laws.
Until we all agree to enforce Federal immigration laws all this shit will keep happening, and the workers will be subjected to sub-par wages and workplace standards, and the U.S. taxpayers will be on the hook for the many social services the undocumented immigrants and their families can't afford.
Well, actually, if the undocumented are using falsified documents to gain employment, some entity has to be collecting those taxes.
Yes, I keep reading about seniors who are receiving significantly more in Social Security benefits thsn they personally earned because an undocumented worker paid into their account...
And does that justify the multiple crimes involved in order to collect a questionable level of tax revenue? The reality is that the fake SSN's are mostly stolen and are most often those of children or the elderly, so the crime goes unnoticed for many years. At best, from the criminal employment the Government collects the employer half of the payroll taxes and maybe the employee half depending on how the employer handles withholding. If the illegal immigrant even files a return, it is unlikely that any income taxes are paid as the lower 50% income earners in the US account for less than 3% of income taxes paid, many pay no Federal income tax at all.
This not to mention the present and/or future damage done to those from whom the SSNs are stolen ranging from tax liens, loss of tax refunds, destroyed credit, loss of health care benefits and other services and all manner of identity theft related issues.
If caught, the crimes for the illegal immigrants go far beyond just the breaking of immigration law and now include identity theft, fraud, and a whole host of other crimes whose punishments far outstrip their earnings from their illegal employment. Their chances of obtaining legal immigration status after that point is nil.
There is no painting of a rosy picture with any of this. Not for the immigrants and their families, nor the victims of their identity crimes, nor the US citizen taxpayers who have to provide money for additional social services and clean up the mess when the shit hits the fan. Those employers and government officials who participate in this whole charade, purposely look the other way, or actively encourage the employment of those without true work authorization are every bit as responsible for the mess it creates as those who illegally cross the border.
I really don't think anything justifies cheating on taxes. It is wrong and unfair to fellow taxpayers. My opinion is that the guy who pays the most taxes wins. I wish I paid more than Musk, Zuckerberg and Bezos combined. It isn't about how much taxes you pay. It is about how much you make and save. That said, the point Thomas made is accurate. Any illegal immigrants who are hired by legit businesses have all the normal taxes and deductions as everyone. They just can never collect the benefits. The thousands of IRS workers Trump fired are the front line against what bothers you. The contention those workers do not pay federal and state taxes into the system is FALSE!
Those who are hired illegally by criminal businesses are harder to detect and punish, but again, that is why we NEED the IRS!
I personally hope DOGE digs deep into non-profits like the telemarketing companies that falsely get donations and pay themselves everything passing along pennies to charity.
Also, we should definitely be taxing the hell out of the net wealth held by all those ulta rich foreigners who just live here in the part time. The Russian, Eastern European, Arab, Indonesian and Chinese billionaires and oligarchs bid up prices on everything here from farm land to rental properties. Tax Them!
Not at all. Your point in 1.1.10 I believe was
If they have a Social Security Number and are paying taxes under that number, all taxes: local, state, and federal, are deducted from their check. In effect, they are taxpaying non-citizens of the US. If you can prove that they use disproportionately high amounts of social services compared to the population at large, you have a valid point.
First you need to prove that these crimes listed are more prevalent among the immigrant community. If any persons secure information is compromised, then any actor from anywhere could be using their personal data, not just immigrants. Do you have any evidence that points to "... tax liens, loss of tax refunds, destroyed credit, loss of health care benefits and other services and all manner of identity theft related issues " that are any higher due to immigrants as compared to the population at large? It would seem to make intuitive sense that these crimes, outside of the fact that they are using a SSN to gain employment, are not occurring at a higher rate among immigrants because that would seem to draw attention to them. Specifically attention that would seem unwanted in the form of potential law enforcement action against them.
You say that the "... US citizen taxpayers who have to provide money for additional social services and clean up the mess when the shit hits the fan ". I would contend that the immigration issue (the shit hitting the fan) is created by politicians wanting to use the immigration issue as a political football. That is, politicians wish to have an issue in which they can ostensibly be seen as "standing up for Americans" and thereby gain traction and votes. The real reason, IMO, for the immigration issue is an inadequate number of immigration personnel to dispel the backlog of cases new and pending. As I see it, immigrants primarily want to come to this country to work and better themselves and their families. We have constricted through inaction most opportunities to gain this status following legal methods. I personally do not see an undocumented alien person as a criminal. We should, as a matter of course and conscience, place more personnel in a position to decrease the backlog of people waiting for legal entry.
It's often not that nefarious. Many times they'll just use paperwork of a brother/cousin/nephew who is legal. So you might have the same guy supposedly working multiple jobs. Or they'll use the paperwork of the child that was born here.
You then have the subcontractor market, where everything from landscapers to painters to maids make their living without being actual employees of anybody. Do you send your maid a 1099? Neither do most people.
Indeed a real problem. We don't have a maid and I do my own yardwork so not an issue. Where we have used painters, tree trimmers and yard care professionals for special issues that come up at our house or rental property we used only licensed contractors and we do ask them about their employment of only documented workers as a condition for getting the job.
Yes I have read that too, but even so that is also illegal and can make things difficult for those relatives or young children in the future. It certainly won't help them gain legal citizenship when the crime is discovered.
Why? If they are gaining employment by this method (which is very common) then they are committing another crime. What difference does it make if such crimes are more or less prevalent among other citizens? Is there some reason why an illegal immigrant should not be punished just as a US citizen would be for identity theft?
Again not sure how that is relevant. If they steal identities so that they can work when not authorized to do so, damages occur to other parties just as they would if another citizen stole those identities.
I don't entirely disagree with you on this. But every country in the world controls the flow of immigration and the process takes time no matter how many agents or immigration personnel we throw at it. So to the extent that more than we can properly handle are encouraged to flow across the border and are not authorized to work here, and then many falsify documents (or are encouraged to do so) to illegally gain employment, then another crime has been committed. The real reason for the immigration issue is that we are not following current immigration law, and haven't for decades.
Again, I don't entirely disagree on the backlog aspect. However, regardless of our personal feelings about the people and their desire to come here and create a better life, they have committed a crime by crossing illegally and/or by committing other crimes to work here without proper authorization or documentation. They have broken current immigration law and often with the help of unscrupulous employers and politicians playing "political football" as you say with the immigration issue. We must follow the immigration law or change it, or else what the hell good is the rule of law on which a society is based?
Thank you again Thomas for another good conversation.
Me too.
No argument from me on that!
Well, if we are pointing out hypocrites in regards to undocumented workers, let me add another one.
Trump resort hired undocumented workers
Trump Hates Legal Immigration, Except When He Loves It
Donald Trump Used Illegal Immigrants to Build Trump Tower
Thanks for that information
.
(Actually I remember some of that from way back when he first ran for president.)
Isn't that called "hypocrisy"?
One worker identified only as Cristy is being represented by the Workers Defense Project after she was fired from a Tesla subcontractor. Her termination came after she had a heatstroke and fainted at work, later filing complaints with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration over alleged unsafe working conditions and retaliation.
Tesla and SpaceX’s reliance on some undocumented workers isn't particularly unique in Texas, where more than 8 percent of the workforce is undocumented and construction is the industry with the highest share of immigrant workers.
But Musk, who spent at least $260 million to support President Donald Trump's re-election campaign as he proposed restrictive immigration policies, has become increasingly vocal on immigration issues even as his companies grow in Texas. Tesla's expansions have included kicking off operations at its Robstown refinery and adding millions of square feet to its Austin factory while SpaceX is adding another facility in South Texas with the help of taxpayer dollars.
The billionaire’s stances on immigration have attracted attention. In October, the Washington Post reported that Musk, who was born in South Africa, did not have the legal right to work while building Zip2, a company that sold for about $300 million in 1999. Following that, Musk stirred debate over his championing of H-1B visas, a program for workers in specialty occupations that Trump previously attacked .
With $260m Musk bought himself the position of being "The Power Behind the Throne".
Why will no one in the media ask the real question, why aren't they going after the businesses who hire them?!
A business has to hire them so why aren't they going into major employers to check?
Meat packing plants, large agricultural farms, large construction companies, large oil companies who hire illegals to do dangerous work, and landscaping companies.
You need to ask why aren't known employers of illegal immigrants being targeted? Go after the employers first!
It's all smoke and mirrors and talking points. They target minor businesses and individuals yet no press coverage on how the businesses that hired them were dealt with.
Why aren't Republicans passing laws for stiff sentences for the employers? No way the business can play dumb in every case.
Very good question.
The answer probably lies in who these businesses donate to.
Well supposedly, the White House was built with and by slave labor. Should we tear it down and store it in a warehouse in some obscure location? Perhaps alongside all those "revolting" statues that just HAD to come down................as if anyone was thinking about those or even knowing what the hell they were looking at..............if they noticed at all