Elon Musk flags ‘dire’ tech shortage amid US H-1B visa debate, bats for increased immigration: ‘For your team to win…’

Billionaire businessman Elon Musk courted controversy this week after calling for increased immigration to combat a tech shortage. The assertion came amid growing calls for H-1B visa reforms — putting the Tesla and SpaceX CEO at loggerheads with many Republican leaders.

“The number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low. Think of this like a pro sports team: if you want your TEAM to win the championship, you need to recruit top talent wherever they may be. That enables the whole TEAM to win,” he wrote on X.

Musk also decried the “permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent” in the US — deeming it a ‘fundamental limiting factor’ for Silicon Valley. His pitch for legal immigration of high-skilled foreign workers echoes similar calls by Republican leader Vivek Ramaswamy. The two leaders were recently tapped to head the Department of Government Efficiency for the incoming Donald Trump administration.

“Yup, I’ve long said the current H-1B system is badly broken and needs to be gutted. It shouldn’t use a lottery; it should be based on pure MERIT. It shouldn’t tether workers to just one corporation. Same principles I favour today,” Ramaswamy assured in a social media post on Friday.

Discussions about H-1B visa reforms have also intensified this week after Trump appointed Sriram Krishnan as a senior policy advisor earlier this week. Krishnan has also been a vocal advocate for immigration laws based on merit, favouring changes that will prioritise highly skilled workers and expedite the green card application process.

A change in the existing laws is likely to benefit India and other nations with a large number of skilled workers. It would lead to quicker visa processing and an easier transition to permanent residency for Indian professionals. It would also alleviate the employment uncertainty plaguing many foreign workers now.

(With inputs from agencies)