Elon Musk Strongly Supports H-1B Visas, Says US Has Benefited Immensely from Indian Talent

The United States has gained enormously from Indian talent, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said, voicing strong support for the H-1B visa programme and warning that shutting it down would be “very bad” for America.

Speaking on investor Nikhil Kamath’s podcast ‘People by WTF’, Musk said the contributions of Indian professionals have played a major role in strengthening the US technology sector.

“Yes, I think America has benefited immensely from talented Indians who have come to America... America has been an immense beneficiary of talent from India,” he noted.

Addressing criticism of the H-1B work visa, the Tesla chief acknowledged that some outsourcing firms have exploited loopholes in the system. However, he stressed that the programme must remain intact.

“But I'm certainly not in the school of thought that we should shut down the H-1B programme. That's where some on the right are. I think they don't realise that that would actually be very bad,” he said.

Musk’s remarks come amid intensified US scrutiny of H-1B visa misuse. The visa is widely used by American tech companies to hire highly skilled foreign workers, with Indians — including IT professionals and doctors — forming one of the largest applicant groups.

Earlier in September, former President Donald Trump signed a proclamation imposing a one-time USD 100,000 fee on new H-1B visas as part of an effort to reform the programme. The move was expected to significantly affect Indian professionals seeking jobs in the US.

When asked whether the US “seems to have become anti-immigration to a certain extent”, Musk said there are different schools of thought on the issue, and there is no unanimity.

He criticised the Biden administration for what he described as “no border controls”, claiming this led to a surge in illegal immigration and created “a negative selection effect”.

He added that the left advocated open borders regardless of who entered the country, while the right believed high-skilled foreign workers were taking US jobs. Musk disagreed with both extremes.

“I don't know how real that is. My direct observation is that there's always a scarcity of talented people. So from my standpoint, I'm like, we have a lot of difficulty finding enough talented people to get these difficult tasks done, and so more talented people would be good,” he said.

Musk noted that some companies hire foreign workers purely to cut costs, but said his own companies focus solely on hiring the best talent globally.

“We pay way above average, so... that's not my experience, but that's what a lot of people do complain about,” he said.

Sharing a message for young Indian entrepreneurs, Musk urged them to build and innovate.

“Aim to make more than you take, be a net contributor to society... If you want to create something valuable... pursue providing useful products and services... then money will come as a natural consequence. Ask yourself: Are you a value creator? That's what really matters,” he said.