Tesla CEO Elon Musk bats for H-1B visas, says tariffs distort markets
Elon Musk reacts during a press event with U.S. President Donald Trump (not pictured) at the White House in Washington, DC, on May 30, 2025.
Nathan Howard | Reuters
Tesla’s While CEO Elon Musk said that the US benefits from talent from India, he added that the H1-B visa program is being misused by companies.
One podcast In an interview with Indian entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath published Sunday, Musk said some companies are using the H-1B visa to hire foreign workers “at a fraction of the cost of an American citizen,” while his companies are hiring to make up for a “shortage of talented people.”
US President Donald Trump raised H-1B visa fees to $100,000 in September, disproportionately affecting Indian workers, who make up more than 70% of H-1B visa holders. Trump appeared to soften his stance on H1-B visas last month, saying In an interview on Fox News, he said foreign labor is needed from time to time because the United States lacks “certain skills.”
“I certainly don’t think we should shut down the H-1B program,” Musk said, adding that that would be “very bad.”
Musk, whose relationship with the US president seems to be improving after it broke down due to Trump’s spending bill in May, also expressed his concerns about the US administration’s tariff policy. Musk, once a close supporter of Trump, said he tried unsuccessfully to dissuade the president from going the tariff route.
“I think free trade is better in general,” Musk said, adding that tariffs create distortions in markets. If tariffs at the individual level or within each state of the US would be disastrous for the economy, “then why do you want tariffs across countries?” he said.
“The president has made it clear that he likes tariffs,” said the Tesla CEO, who spearheaded the creation of the recently disbanded Department of Government Efficiency eight months into his term, according to Reuters.
Trump imposed “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of countries, and many managed to make deals with the US to lower the tariffs.
In the podcast, which featured Kamath covering a wide range of topics, Musk also laid out his vision for the future, predicting that work will become optional in less than 20 years and money as a concept will “disappear.”
Musk said energy is the real currency. “That’s why I said Bitcoin is based on energy. You can’t legalize energy.”
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have experienced a sharp selloff over the past two months as investor mood for digital assets deteriorated.
