President-elect says he has always liked H-1B visas, despite moving to restrict them in first term in office, as ‘America First’ rages against immigration

The world's wealthiest tycoon wants more visas for engineering talent, but conservatives including RFK Jr. vice-presidential pick are savaging the H-1B program as predatory.

President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday defended the visa program that allows highly skilled foreign workers to immigrate to the US, marking his first comments on an issue that has divided his supporters this week.

Musk, the owner of car manufacturer Tesla and social media platform X, has been tapped by Trump to lead the proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with biotech entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, after vocally supporting and financially backing his campaign for president.

Musk had some social media commentators fearing that he’d “space laser us” after lashing out over H-1B immigration debate.

Donald Trump’s “best buddy,” South African-born Elon Musk, has endorsed a post on X slamming Americans as “re***ded” workers who can’t hold a candle to skilled foreign hires in Silicon Valley. Musk was responding to a post — using a word widely considered a slur — explaining the difference between the “right right” (whom Trump claims to back) and the “tech right.

The conflict centers on Musk and Ramaswamy’s recent praise for foreign tech workers, beginning soon after Indian immigrant Sriram Krishnan joined the team of Trump’s AI and crypto czar David Sacks. It’s pitted Trump’s tech mogul donor class against his older network of far-right influencers like activist and Trump companion Laura Loomer while escalating into racist rhetoric against Indian Americans in particular.