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New Delhi: Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has credited highly skilled Indians for significantly contributing to the United States’ technological progress, saying the country’s innovation ecosystem has been strengthened by decades of talent arriving from India.
Speaking on a podcast hosted by Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath, released on Sunday, Musk was responding to a discussion on how the US has historically drawn bright minds from around the world — a trend often described in India as “brain drain.” Kamath pointed to the growing list of Indian-origin CEOs leading major global companies as an example of this shift.
Musk agreed, acknowledging the transformative impact of Indian professionals in the US. “America has benefitted immensely from talented Indians that have come to America,” he said, highlighting their role in shaping the country’s tech leadership and economic growth.
Days after Donald Trump voiced support for the H-1B visa programme, Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene proposed a bill seeking to gradually eliminate it, arguing that the system sidelines American workers. The move has raised concerns for thousands of Indian professionals, who form the majority of H-1B recipients and often rely on the programme as a stepping stone toward a Green Card and eventual US citizenship.
Commenting on US immigration policies, Musk — who headed the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — criticised the previous government’s approach. "Under the Biden administration, it was basically a total free-for-all with no border controls... It actually had somewhat of a negative selection effect," he said.
Elaborating further, he added that generous incentives without proper enforcement encouraged unlawful entry. "So if there's a massive financial incentive to come to the US illegally and get all these government benefits... you got to have border controls. It's kind of ridiculous not to," he said, blaming the earlier administration for what he called flawed immigration structures.
