Elon Musk Joins Tech Groups' Amicus Brief vs Trump Travel Ban - But Remains On Advisory Council

Elon Musk, as well as his companies Tesla and Space X, joins the growing list of tech executives and companies that filed an immigration amicus brief opposing President Donald Trump's executive order, which temporarily banned refugees from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from coming to the U.S.

This comes after the CEO received a lot of flak for becoming part of the president's Economic Advisory Council.

The legal brief strongly condemned Trump's travel ban and was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals. Aside from Tesla, other tech companies such as Facebook, Microsoft, Netflix, and Apple also made their sentiments felt in the brief, which said that the ban makes it "more difficult and expensive for U.S. companies to recruit, hire, and retain some of the world's best employees."

Elon Musk Widely Criticized For Joining Trump Council

Elon Musk's decision to stay within Trump's Economic Advisory Council was met with a lot of derision, although this was not in the same level that was met by his Uber counterpart, who was forced to step down from the business advisory council after a #DeleteUber campaign trended on Twitter. Musk was also criticized for his approval of Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State.

A handful of Tesla preorder cancellations made the news recently, but not to the extent of backlash that Uber has received. Still, Musk's continued participation with the Trump administration is highly risky, considering the fact that he himself is an immigrant, and that most of his well-heeled, educated, and environmentally-conscious customers are against the administration.

Earlier in the month, Musk tweeted before attending a council meeting that his participation was to "simply provide advice and attending does not mean that I agree with actions by the Administration."

Musk's 'Moderate' Stance On Trump Administration

Elon Musk has always maintained a 'moderate' view on President Trump. Many times in the past, he has been forced to defend this position by saying that hearing from more moderate voices will help improve the government's policy decisions.

"Activists should be pushing for more moderates to advise President, not fewer," tweeted Musk. "How could having only extremists advise him possibly be good?"

When a follower asked what to say to people who have disavowed Musk, the CEO tweeted this in response: "People should push to have as many moderates advising the President as possible. Blind hate is never the right answer."

Tesla And SpaceX Dependent On Government

It is also worth noting that both of Musk's companies have benefited from the government. SpaceX has relied on lucrative federal government contracts, while Tesla customers all enjoy a $7,500 income tax credit.