Amid debate over US immigration and visa policy changes, Tesla CEO Elon Musk acknowledged the contributions of Indian talent to sectors like technology and innovation. “I think America has benefited immensely from talented Indians who have come to America. I mean, America’s been an immense beneficiary of talent from India,” Musk said on Nikhil Kamath’s ‘People by WTF’ podcast.
Musk, who briefly served as a senior advisor to President Donald Trump and led the Department of Government Efficiency, said some anti-immigration sentiment grew from “misuse” of the H‑1B programme and a previous “free‑for‑all” approach. When asked whether immigrant talent was taking jobs from native-born citizens, he said he was unsure such concerns were valid. “You’ve got a perception that somehow their jobs are being taken by talented people from other countries. I don’t know how real that is. My direct observation is that there’s always a scarcity of talented people,” he said.
Noting American companies’ difficulty finding enough skilled workers, Musk argued that immigrants are filling gaps rather than displacing workers. “At my company, the issue is we are just trying to get the most talented people around the world,” he said.
On the H‑1B programme, Musk admitted there has been misuse but opposed shutting it down. “I think there’s been some misuse of the, you know, H‑1B programme. It would be accurate to say that there’s, you know, like some of the outsourcing companies have kind of gamed the system on the H‑1B front, and we need to stop the gaming of the system. But I’m certainly not in the school of thought that we should shut down the H1B programme,” he said.
The H‑1B visa, created by the Immigration Act of 1990, allows US employers to hire foreign professionals in speciality occupations. Indians have accounted for an estimated 71% of approved H‑1B applications in recent years, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services. The Trump administration adopted a stricter regulatory stance while still recognizing the need for skilled foreign workers.
