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Billionaire businessman and recently appointed government cost-cutter Elon Musk called for increased immigration of high-skilled foreign workers to the U.S. in several social media posts combating immigration restrictionists.
In a post on X, Musk decried a “permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent” in America, calling it the “fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Mario Nawfal, a businessman and influencer on X, quoted Musk’s post and said the U.S. semiconductor industry alone needs more than 160,000 engineers by 2032, citing McKinsey & Company.
“No, we need more like double that number yesterday!” Musk replied. “The number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low.”
Musk then drew an analogy between the U.S. economy and a pro sports team. “If you want your TEAM to win the championship, you need to recruit top talent wherever they may be,” he wrote.
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SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk speaks during an America PAC town hall in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 26. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images / Getty Images)
His argument provoked backlash from immigration restrictionists, who replied that tech companies should look to the 330 million people in America for top talent instead of calling for more foreign workers to immigrate to the U.S.
“Your understanding of the situation is upside-down and backwards,” Musk said in response to a user who demanded to know why he would deny job opportunities to Americans.
“OF COURSE my companies and I would prefer to hire Americans and we DO, as that is MUCH easier than going through the incredibly painful and slow work visa process.”
“HOWEVER, there is a dire shortage of extremely talented and motivated engineers in America,” Musk explained.
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Elon Musk, left, and President-elect Trump. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images / Getty Images)
“If you force the world’s best talent to play for the other side, America will LOSE. End of story.”
His comments come as some immigration hardliners have voiced opposition to President-elect Trump’s appointment of Indian-American venture capitalist Sriram Krishnan to an advisory position for artificial intelligence (AI) in the incoming administration. Krishnan had previously urged Musk, who is close to Trump and who will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), to persuade the president to remove caps on green cards for highly-skilled workers born in foreign countries.
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From left: Elon Musk, carrying his son X Æ A-Xii, walks with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Vivek Ramaswamy at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 5. (Jack Gruber/USA Today Network via Imagn Images / IMAGN)
“Anything to remove country caps for green cards / unlock skilled immigration would be huge,” Krishnan wrote on X. In another post, he added, “simple logic – we need the best, regardless of where they happen to be born (another bizarre quirk – the country cap is where you were born, not even citizenship).”
David Sacks, who Trump tapped as White House AI and cryptocurrency czar, defended Krishnan’s view in an X post this week.
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“Sriram still supports skills-based criteria for receiving a green card, not making the program unlimited. In fact, he wants to make the program entirely merit-based,” Sacks wrote in part of his post.
“Makes sense,” Musk replied.
FOX Business’ Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur and CEO of companies like SpaceX and Tesla, is not one to shy away from controversial topics. In a series of recent posts on social media, Musk has been combating anti-immigration sentiment by decrying what he calls a “dire shortage” of tech talent in the United States.
Musk, who himself immigrated to the US from South Africa, has long been an advocate for skilled immigration and has spoken out against restrictive immigration policies that he believes hinder the country’s ability to attract top talent from around the world.
In his posts, Musk has highlighted the importance of immigration in driving innovation and economic growth, particularly in the tech industry. He has argued that the US needs to be more welcoming to immigrants with technical skills in order to remain competitive on the global stage.
Musk’s stance on immigration has drawn both praise and criticism, with some applauding his efforts to combat anti-immigrant sentiment and others accusing him of promoting open borders. Regardless of where one stands on the issue, Musk’s outspoken advocacy for skilled immigration is likely to continue to spark debate and discussion in the tech community and beyond.
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