That may be what he said, but the article was quite clear about what was going on and I trust that article more than I trust him to present me with facts. He is saying it is illegal under ITAR to hire these people but the article says that it is not. The laws are public information and this can be looked up.
And a persecution complex is typical right-wing nutjob fare.
Musks' idea that some laws contradict each other so you're "damned if you do, damned if you don't" are interesting though.
Sure, lots of ideas are interesting.
This is the problem with disinformation though. It takes only a sentence or two to spread it, but it takes a lot more time and effort and research and paragraphs to counter it.
In this particular instance, the issue is that SpaceX incorrectly claimed that hiring asylees and refugees would put them at odds with the ITAR export control laws. This is not the case, as:
the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) control the export of commodities, software, and technology, as well as govern and restrict “deemed exports,” such as the release of technical data, technology, or source code to individuals within the U.S. who are not “U.S. persons.” Under U.S. export control laws, a U.S. person is defined as any individual who is a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, refugee or asylee. Refugees and asylees thus are permitted to view certain controlled items on equal footing with U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
[
1]
Now, it is true that violations of the ITAR laws can carry very heavy penalties, likely worse than violating the Immigration and Nationality Act. So, as a business decision, SpaceX incorrectly stated they could only hire U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, to just simply avoid even worrying about the issue.
Read
this article from the National Law Review (among others that can be easily found online) for a good summary of the subject.
Also note that Musk is fighting the DOJ lawsuit not on the grounds that he is correct on the merits, but by alleging that the administrative law judges (ALJs) on the case were “unconstitutionally appointed” because they possess authority that only those appointed by the president should have[
2].
Now, whether asylees and refugees should be granted the same status as other "U.S. Persons" when it comes to ITAR is a very good subject for discussion, and there may be good arguments why the laws should be changed in this regard. But that's not the approach Musk has taken; rather, he has cried foul by claiming persecution and weaponization of the DOJ against him personally. This is not a person acting in good faith discussion on the subject.
Now, keep in mind, there are other rules when it comes to being hired by the government and/or working on projects that require security clearance, which most people, including US Citizens, do not have. But those shouldn't be conflated with this issue here, where the laws do not actually "contradict each other", but rather are just inconvenient for his political position.
