Tesla CEO Elon Musk has defended the H-1B visa programme, saying that the US economy has “benefited immensely” from Indian immigrants. He made the comments in a podcast conversation with Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath.
Speaking on the “WTF is?” podcast, released on Sunday, Musk argued that America needs high-skill workers from India now more than ever, while also calling out misuse of the visa system by some outsourcing firms.
“America has been an immense beneficiary of talent from India,” Musk said, adding that his companies constantly struggle to fill specialised roles because “there’s always a scarcity of talented people.”
While defending the H-1B programme as a crucial pipeline for global talent, he also acknowledged its vulnerabilities.
He criticised “some of the outsourcing companies (that) have kind of gamed the system,” and urged reforms to “stop the gaming of the system” rather than shutting the programme down entirely.
“I’m absolutely not in the school of thought that we should shut down the H-1B programme,” he said, pushing back on calls from parts of the political right.
Musk linked wider immigration debates to policy failures, arguing that the previous administration’s approach amounted to “a total free for all, with like no border controls,” which he said encouraged illegal immigration and “a negative selection effect.” “Unless you’ve got border controls, you’re not a country,” he added.
Here are his top quotes:
Talking about the H-1B visa program in the US and the change in the country’s immigration policies, Elon Musk said: “I think America has benefitted immensely from talented Indians that have come to America. Yeah, America has been an immense beneficiary of talent from India.” While Musk noted that there has been some misuse of the H-1B Program, he also said he doesn’t believe in shutting it down altogether.
On AI replacing jobs
Making a bold prediction on the work culture about two decades from now, Elon Musk said: “In less than 20 years, working at all will be optional…like a hobby pretty much….In less than 20 years, the advancements in AI or robotics will bring us to the point where working is optional.” Citing an example as reference, Musk said: “You can grow your own vegetables in the garden or go to the store and buy them.”
Talking about SpaceX work with the Starlink programme, Elon Musk said: “And hopefully, India. We’d love to be operating in India. That would be great. We’re operating in 150 different countries, now, with Starlink.”
When asked what advice he would give to young entrepreneurs in India, Elon Musk said: “I’m a big fan of anyone who wants to build. So I think anyone who wants to…you know, make more than they take, has my respect. So that’s the main thing you should aim for, aim to make more than you take. Be a, you know, a net contributor to society.”
Elon Musk also shared that his partner Shivon Zilis is “half-Indian” and one of their children’s middle name is ‘Sekhar’. “One of my sons with her is, his middle name is Sekhar, after Chandrasekhar,” Musk said, referring to S Chandrasekhar, a renowned Indian-American astrophysicist.
More about H-1B visas
Musk’s comments come at a tense moment for the H-1B programme under President Donald Trump’s second term, which has adopted a stricter regulatory posture while still acknowledging the necessity of skilled foreign workers.
The H-1B visa, created by the Immigration Act of 1990, allows US employers to hire foreign professionals in speciality occupations.
Congress caps the programme at 65,000 visas annually. Indians dominate the system: they received 71 per cent of all H-1B approvals in 2024, followed by Chinese nationals at 12 per cent.
The US approved nearly 400,000 H-1B applications that year, including renewals outside the cap.
In Trump’s second term, enforcement has tightened. In September, he announced a new $100,000 fee on fresh H-1B petitions filed after September 21, 2025. The fee targets what the administration calls “loopholes” enabling employers to “undercut American workers.” It does not apply to renewals, current visa holders, or 2025 lottery winners.
A Department of Homeland Security proposal expected in December will revisit cap exemptions, expand scrutiny of violators, and tighten third-party worksite rules to “improve programme integrity.”
Despite the tough rhetoric, Trump has repeatedly acknowledged the programme’s economic value. In a November 11 Fox News interview, he defended the visas against critics within his base: “You do also have to bring in talent… We’re not going to be successful if we don’t allow people who invest billions… to bring a lot of their people from their country.”
Acknowledging workforce gaps, he added: “You can’t take people off an unemployment line and say, ‘I’m going to put you into a factory.'”
