Elon Musk reacts during a press conference with US President Donald Trump (not pictured) at the White House on May 30, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Nathan Howard | Reuters
tesla CEO Elon Musk said the US is a beneficiary of talent from India, while adding that the H-1B visa program has been abused by companies.
In a podcast with Indian entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath that aired on Sunday, Musk said that while some companies are hiring foreign workers on H-1B visas at “a fraction of the cost of American citizens,” his company is hiring to fill a “shortage of talented people.”
In September, US President Donald Trump raised the fee for H-1B visas to $100,000, disproportionately impacting Indian workers, who make up more than 70% of H-1B visa holders. President Trump appeared to soften his stance on H1-B visas last month, saying in an interview with Fox News that foreign workers may be needed because the U.S. doesn’t have “certain people.”
“I don’t believe in any way that we should cancel the H-1B program,” Musk said, adding that that would be “a very bad thing.”
Musk’s relationship with the US president appears to be on the mend since it deteriorated over President Trump’s spending bill in May, but he also expressed concerns about the US government’s tariff policy. Musk, a former Trump ally, said he tried unsuccessfully to dissuade the president from pursuing tariffs.
“I think free trade is generally better,” Musk said, adding that tariffs create market distortions. If tariffs at the individual level, or within each U.S. state, have a disastrous effect on the economy, “so why would we impose tariffs between countries?” he said.
“The president has made it clear he loves tariffs,” said Tesla’s CEO, who led the creation of the recently disbanded Department of Government Efficiency with eight months left until his appointment, according to Reuters.
President Trump has imposed “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of countries, some of which have reached deals with the United States to lower tariffs.
In a podcast in which Kamath covered a wide range of topics, Musk also laid out his vision for the future, predicting that within 20 years, work will be optional and money as a concept will “disappear.”
Energy is the real currency, Musk said. “This is why I said Bitcoin is based on energy. You can’t legislate energy.”
Bitcoin Other cryptocurrencies have fallen sharply over the past two months as investors’ mood towards digital assets has worsened.
