Musk slams Trump’s tariff stance : Warns “broken” H‑1B system needs reform

Washington (The Uttam Hindu) : Following US President Donald Trump's announcement of changes and stricter regulations to the H-1B visa program, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has issued a statement that Trump may not like. Musk praised Indians living in the US, saying that Indian immigrants have greatly benefited the American economy.

In a podcast, Musk said that Indian entrepreneurs should set up companies in India as there is no dearth of talent and capability in India. Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath recently spoke to Elon Musk in his podcast 'WTF'. During this, Musk said that America needs high-skilled people from India now more than ever. Along with this, he also criticized the misuse of the visa system by some outsourcing companies. Elon Musk said, "America has been a huge beneficiary of talent from India. Their companies constantly face difficulty in filling key positions because there is always a shortage of talented people.

Musk said that the H-1B program has been misused in America, but I do not agree with closing it. He also targeted the Biden government. He said that the previous government's approach was to make H-1B visas completely free for everyone without any border control. This encouraged illegal migration and a negative selection effect. He said, "Unless you have border control, you are not a country." Regarding Trump's tariffs, Elon Musk said that I tried very hard to stop the US President from imposing tariffs, but I was not successful. Tariffs are harmful for any economy in the long run.

Trump loves tariffs and wasn't about to back down from his decision on this issue. Tariffs disrupt markets and make trade less efficient. To explain this, Musk gave an example. He said that imposing tariffs even between cities or states would bring any economy to a standstill. The same logic applies to trade between countries. Recently, the US President increased the application fee for new H-1B visas to $100,000 (approximately Rs 89 lakh). This was implemented from September 21, 2025. However, Trump says that he respects talent and this will not be an annual fee. This rule will apply to new visas.

The H1B visa was created by the Immigration Act of 1990. It allows US companies to hire foreign talent. The program is limited to 65,000 visas each year. India is the largest beneficiary of H1B visas. Indians received 71 percent of all H1B approvals in 2024. This is followed by Chinese nationals with approximately 12 percent. The US approved approximately 400,000 H1B visas in 2024, including renewals beyond the limit.