Days after vowing to “go to war” to protect H-1B visas, tech billionaire Elon Musk said Sunday that the system used to bring skilled foreign workers to the US is “broken” and It needs “major reforms”. ,
Mr Musk and Indian-American tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have recently clashed with supporters of US President-elect Donald Trump over the issue of immigration.
Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy, who are set to be part of the incoming Trump administration, have supported the H-1B visa program.
Posting on is required”.
He was responding to a user who said the US needs to become a destination for “the world’s most elite talent”, but the H-1B program is “not the way to do it”.
Mr Musk said this could be “easily fixed” by significantly increasing the minimum wage and adding to the annual cost of maintaining H-1Bs, making it “actually more expensive to hire overseas than domestically”. Will go.
This could easily be fixed by significantly increasing the minimum wage and adding to the annual cost of maintaining an H1B, making it more expensive to hire overseas than domestically.
I am very clear that the program is broken and needs major reform.
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 29 December 2024
Last week, Mr Musk said bringing in elite engineering talent from abroad was “essential to keeping America winning.”
Mr Ramaswamy, the son of Indian immigrants, also echoed Mr Musk’s sentiments. He argued that American culture has long celebrated “mediocrity over excellence.”
He posted on X, “A culture that celebrates prom queens rather than Math Olympiad champions… will not produce the best engineers.”
Debate on H-1B visa
The debate over H-1B visas began when right-wing influencer Laura Loomer criticized Donald Trump’s selection of Indian-American entrepreneur Sriram Krishnan as an advisor on artificial intelligence policy in his incoming administration.
Ms. Loomer, along with far-right figures like Ann Coulter and former Congressman Matt Gaetz, accused Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswami of undermining American workers.
A viral post on Twitter accused Mr. Krishnan as an “India First” operative whose goal was to “replace American workers.”
“Looking forward to the inevitable divorce between President Trump and Big Tech,” said Ms. Loomer, a MAGA personality known for her conspiracy theories.
“We have to protect President Trump from the technocrats,” he said.
Mr Musk hit back at his critics and warned of a “MAGA civil war”.
He also swore at a critic, saying, “I will fight a war on this issue.”
Trump supports Musk in H-1B visa debate
Donald Trump has sided with Elon Musk in the public controversy over the use of H-1B visas, saying that he fully supports the program for foreign technical workers, which some of his supporters are opposing.
Trump, who took steps to limit the use of visas during his first presidency, told The New York Post on Saturday that he was similarly in favor of the visa program.
“I have several H-1B visas on properties. I believe in H-1B. I have used it several times. It’s a great program,” he said.
