Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Sunday dubbed the H-1B visa system as “broken” and said that it needed a “major reform”, days after vowing to “go to war” to defend the system which is used to allow foreign skilled workers to work in the US.
Elon Musk and Indian-American tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who are all set to be a part of the incoming Donald Trump administration in the US next year, have backed the H1-B visa programme. They recently clashed with Trump supporters over the issue of immigration.
What Did Elon Musk Say On H1-B Visas?
Responding to a post on X, the social media platform he is an owner of, Musk, who himself is an immigrant from South Africa on an H1-B visa, said that he has been very clear that the system is “broken” and “needs a major reform”.
His response came to an X user who said that the United States needs to be a destination for the world’s “most elite talent”, however, “H1-B visa isn’t the way to do that”.
Musk shared his opinion on how to “easily fix” the “broken” system and said that minimum salary requirement for getting the visa should be raised significantly so that it is more expensive for employers to “hire from overseas than domestically”.
“Easily fixed by raising the minimum salary significantly and adding a yearly cost for maintaining the H1B, making it materially more expensive to hire from overseas than domestically. I’ve been very clear that the program is broken and needs major reform,” Musk replied to the post.
Musk had previously batted for bringing in the top engineering talent into the US, calling it “essential for America to keep winning”. Ramaswamy, son of Indian immigrants, also echoed Musk’s sentiments over the issue.
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