NEW DELHI, India — The United States has “benefited immensely” from talented Indians who moved there and helped build its technology and business sectors, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said.
Speaking on Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath’s “WTF is” podcast, Musk noted that people of Indian origin — especially engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs — have made major contributions across industries and continue to play a crucial role in the U.S. economy.
Musk said the H-1B visa program is vital but warned that some companies have “gamed the system,” arguing the problem lies in misuse rather than the program itself.
“It would be accurate to say that 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 H-1B program,” he said.
Eliminating the visa would harm the U.S. economy, Musk said, adding, “I think they don’t realize that would actually be very bad.”
In September, U.S. President Donald Trump said new H-1B applications would cost $100,000, up from roughly $2,000 to $5,000 that employers previously paid to hire foreign workers.
Musk also criticized former U.S. President Joe Biden’s handling of immigration, saying zero border controls resulted in “massive amounts of illegal immigration” and a “negative selection effect.”
Addressing concerns that immigrants take jobs from U.S. workers, Musk said his companies struggle to find highly skilled talent domestically, and global hiring helps bridge that gap.
Saying that large-scale artificial intelligence and robotics are the only long-term solutions to the United States’ debt challenges, Musk described the current national debt as “insanely high” and warned that interest payments will continue to rise.
Musk again encouraged Indian founders to “be a net contributor to society,” saying financial success follows from creating useful products and services rather than chasing money. (Source: IANS)
