US benefitted immensely from talented Indians: Musk backs H-1B programme
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said that the United States has benefitted immensely from skilled Indians who have moved there over the years. Speaking on Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamaths WTF is podcast, released on Sunday, Musk said that Indian engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs have been instrumental in advancing American innovation. He described the contribution of Indian talent as significant in strengthening the US tech industry. Kamath began the conversation by pointing out that the US has long attracted really smart people from across the world, a trend that many in India have characterised as a brain drain. He cited the high number of Indian-origin CEOs leading major global companies. Elon Musk agreed with this observation, emphasising that Indian professionals have played a pivotal role in driving technological and business excellence. Addressing concerns that foreign workers may displace local employees, Musk said, I dont know how real that is. My direct observation is that theres always a scarcity of talented people. We have a lot of difficulty finding enough talented people to get difficult tasks done, and so more talented people would be good. He added that his companies, Tesla, SpaceX, X, and xAI prioritise hiring the most talented people in the world, regardless of nationality. While acknowledging instances of misuse by certain outsourcing firms, Musk opposed shutting down the programme. Some companies have gamed the system on the H-1B front, and we need to stop the gaming of the system. But shutting it down would actually be very bad, he said. Musk's comment followed Trumps remarks earlier this month defending the H-1B visa system, which allows US employers to hire highly skilled foreign professionals, particularly in technology and engineering. Trump said that while America must develop its own workforce, it also needs to bring in talent from around the world to fill critical skill gaps. You dont have certain talents here: Trump makes rare defence of the H-1B visa program
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