Days after vowing to “go to war” to defend the H-1B visas, tech billionaire Elon Musk on Sunday said the system, which is used to bring skilled foreign workers to the US, is “broken” and needs a “major reform”.

Mr Musk and Indian-American tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have recently clashed with supporters of US President-elect Donald Trump over the issue of immigration.

Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy, who are set to be part of the incoming Trump administration, have backed the H-1B visa program.

Posting on X, the social media site he owns, Mr Musk, who himself migrated from South Africa on an H-1B, said he has “been very clear” that the program is “broken” and “needs major reform”.

He was responding to a user who said the US needs to be a destination for the “world’s most elite talent”, but the H-1B program “isn’t the way to do that”.

Mr Musk said it can be “easily fixed” by raising the minimum salary significantly and adding a yearly cost for maintaining the H-1B, making it “materially more expensive to hire from overseas than domestically”.

Easily fixed by raising the minimum salary significantly and adding a yearly cost for maintaining the H1B, making it materially more expensive to hire from overseas than domestically.

I’ve been very clear that the program is broken and needs major reform.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 29, 2024

Last week, Mr Musk said bringing elite engineering talent from abroad was “essential for America to keep winning.”

Mr Ramaswamy, the son of Indian immigrants, also echoed Mr Musk’s sentiments. He argued that the US culture has long celebrated “mediocrity over excellence”.

“A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ… will not produce the best engineers,” he posted on X.

Debate Over H-1B Visas

The debate over H-1B visas began after Laura Loomer, a right-wing influencer, criticised Donald Trump’s selection of Indian-American entrepreneur Sriram Krishnan as an adviser on artificial intelligence policy in his coming administration.

Ms Loomer, along with far-right figures like Ann Coulter and former Congressman Matt Gaetz, accused Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy of undermining American workers.

One viral post on X accused Mr Krishnan as an “India First” operative whose goal was to “replace American workers.”

“Looking forward to the inevitable divorce between President Trump and Big Tech,” Ms Loomer, a MAGA figure known for her conspiracy theories, said.

“We have to protect President Trump from the technocrats,” she said.

Mr Musk fired back at his critics and warned of a “MAGA civil war.”

He also swore at one critic, saying, “I will go to war on this issue.”

Trump Backs Musk In H-1B Visa Debate

Donald Trump has sided with Elon Musk in a public dispute over the use of the H-1B visa, saying he fully backs the program for foreign tech workers opposed by some of his supporters.

Trump, who moved to limit the visas’ use during his first presidency, told The New York Post on Saturday he was likewise in favour of the visa program.

“I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program,” he was quoted as saying.

Indian diaspora on Saturday issued a media advisory strongly condemning the racist attacks on Sriram Krishnan, who was recently appointed as Senior AI Advisor by President-elect Donald Trump.

“Sriram Krishnan, who was recently appointed by President-elect Trump as his Senior AI Advisor, has become a target of reprehensible racist attacks. There is absolutely no place in our public discourse for spiteful, vengeful, racially motivated, ad hominem epithets,” the advisory reads.

“At Indiaspora, we categorically and unequivocally denounce racism of any and all kinds. As enunciated in our media statement issued a few days ago, we strongly support Sriram’s appointment to this important position because we are confident that he will serve America very well in public office,” it added.

Recently, the Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna criticised those targeting Indian-born Krishnan, over his Indian origin. Khanna emphasised that the ability of the United States to attract talent from around the world shows America’s “exceptionalism” which puts it ahead of other countries like China.

Following a post by an X user, who wrote, “Did any of yall vote for this Indian to run America,” Khanna on X wrote, “You fools criticizing @sriramk as Indian born criticize Musk as South African born or Jensen as Taiwanese born.”

“It is great that talent around the world wants to come here, not to China, and that Sriram can rise to the highest levels. It’s called American exceptionalism,” the post added.

US President-elect Donald Trump nominated Sriram Krishnan as senior policy advisor for Artificial Intelligence at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Sharing a post on the Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, “Sriram Krishnan will serve as Senior Policy Advisor for Artificial Intelligence at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.”

“Working closely with David Sacks, Sriram will focus on ensuring continued American leadership in AI, and help shape and coordinate Al policy across Government, including working with the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Sriram started his career at Microsoft as a founding member of Windows Azure,” he said.

Krishnan, 41, acknowledged the offer and expressed his gratitude for the opportunity by saying, “I’m honoured to be able to serve our country and ensure continued American leadership in AI working closely with @DavidSacks. Thank you @realDonaldTrump for this opportunity.”

Krishnan till recently was a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz and a personal investor in over two dozen companies including SpaceX, Figma and Scale.ai.

He previously led organisations at Meta, X and Microsoft. He holds a Bachelor of Technology in Information Technology from SRM Engineering College, Anna University.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

Laura Loomer, a right-wing influencer and outspoken Donald Trump supporter, has launched a scathing attack on Elon Musk. Her grievances seem to stem from Musk’s advocacy for increased immigration in the US tech sector.

Loomer took to X to denounce Musk’s influence on Trump and label his “Department of Government Efficiency” project with Vivek Ramaswamy as a “vanity project”.

Loomer’s tirade didn’t stop there. She predicted a falling out between Musk and Trump soon. Musk dismissed Loomer as a troll, but she continued her attacks, resorting to racist and homophobic slurs. She accused Musk of being a “pawn of China” and claimed he had “bought his way into MAGA”.

“Remember when you voted for Biden and propped up @GovRonDeSantis and you said Trump was too old? We all know you only donated your money so you could influence immigration policy and protect your buddy Xi JinPing,” she said in an X post, further adding, “He’s a stage 5 clinger who over stayed his welcome at Mar a Lago in an effort to become Trump’s side piece and be the point man for all of his accomplices in big Tech to slither into Mar a Lago.”

Loomer’s opposition to Musk appears to be driven by her anti-immigration views, which are rooted in her racist and Islamophobic beliefs. Her attacks on Musk also targeted his perceived ties to China and immigrants from India.

“The tech billionaires don’t get to just walk inside Mar a Lago and stroke their massive checkbooks and rewrite our immigration policy so they can have unlimited slave laborers from India and China who never assimilated,” she wrote on the platform. “I don’t care about being called “racist” by people who don’t have the best interest of the American worker in mind.”

Interestingly, Vivek Ramaswamy, Musk’s collaborator on the government efficiency project, also faced backlash from MAGA supporters for his comments criticising American culture. Ramaswamy’s remarks sparked racist attacks from the far right, further alienating him from Trump loyalists.

The feud between Loomer, Musk, and Ramaswamy highlights the growing tensions within the MAGA movement. As Musk and Ramaswamy navigate the complexities of Trumpworld, they may soon find themselves at odds with the former president himself.
 

Following Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections, a new trend has emerged on social media platforms called the ‘MATGA movement’. The ‘Make Aqua Tofana Great Again’ or ‘MATGA’ movement hits out at Donald Trump’s popular ‘Make America Great Again’ (MAGA) slogan. In this movement, US women are filming murder-fantasy videos in which they lace men’s drinks with deadly poison. Notably, the movement is a nod to ancient killer Giulia Tofana – a 17th-century Italian woman who sold Aqua Tofana poison to women who wanted to murder their husbands because of violence at home.

According to Newsweek, social media videos related to this trend show young women smiling as they add unknown substances to drinks. Some clips also show women advertising poison rings that can be worn on fingers. 

HOLY SH*T, Karens lost their fvcking minds over Trump’s win and launched MATGA—short for Make Aqua Tofana Great Again.

Aqua Tofana was a powerful poison in 17th-century Sicily, sold by women to other women seeking to escape abusive relationships by discreetly poisoning their… pic.twitter.com/KvHK8ZXWz4

— I Meme Therefore I Am (@ImMeme0) November 10, 2024

MATGA movement owes most of its development to Giulia Tofana. Her invention, the famous Aqua Tofana poison, was a deadly, undetectable poison used across Italy, gaining notoriety for its stealth and potency. The poison was typically concealed in everyday cosmetic containers, allowing unsuspecting husbands to remain oblivious to their approaching demise. 

Therefore, the MATGA trend has become synonymous with Tofana. This movement comes after misogynistic phrases like “Your body, my choice” went viral online following Mr Trump’s presidential win with men messaging random women online threatening them that their bodies no longer belong to them. So, the MATGA movement seems to be in response to this rising misogynistic hate. 

Some people online have framed this latest movement as a modern-day reminder of the long-standing fight for women’s rights. However, according to Newsweek, critics have argued that referring to a deadly poison, even in jest, can send the wrong message. 

Also Read | Here’s How Indians Reacted To Elon Musk’s Comments On Canada PM Justin Trudeau

One TikToker urged women who are taking part in “MATGA” to think about the consequences of poisoning people. “You do know those videos can be used against you, right? The internet is forever. Also, the 1600s were a lot different than 2024 advancements in detecting poison,” read the caption of one video.

Separately, Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene raised an alarm to the FBI and called for an investigation into the “public death threats”. “@FBI these are public death threats and must [be] investigated! These women are telling others how to poison and murder men because they are angry over the election. If you tracked down J6’ers (January 6 rioters), pro-lifers, parents angry at school boards, then you better go after these psychopaths!” Ms Greene said. 

New York:

Billionaire Elon Musk has changed his X display picture to show his public support for Republican US Presidential candidate Donald Trump. The image, which features Musk wearing a “Make America Great Again” cap against the backdrop of the American flag, comes as the former US president prepares for the upcoming 2024 presidential election on November 5.

pic.twitter.com/3rp9bd61kX

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 6, 2024

The internet was quick to react to this public show of support. 

One user commented, “Who loves Elon and President Trump?”

Who loves Elon and President Trump? ????

— ????????Kelli Kay???????? (@KelliKayK) October 6, 2024

“I gotta get one of those hats. Who else will be getting one?” asked another.

I gotta get one of those hats. Who else will be getting one?????‍

— ProudPatriotUS???????? (@PrPatriotUS) October 6, 2024

Others dubbed him the “Dark MAGA” with comments like, “Dark MAGA rises.”

Dark MAGA rises ???? pic.twitter.com/NG9f1m3Fxd

— Julia ???????? (@Jules31415) October 6, 2024

Elon Musk’s endorsement, while notable, is not entirely unexpected. He has been a vocal supporter of Trump in the past and recently attended a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania – the same venue where the former president was nearly assassinated in July. He was seen wearing the same cap that he posted on his X account. During the event, Donald Trump acknowledged Elon Musk’s presence by inviting him on stage and referred to him as an “incredible guy.” 

In his speech, Elon Musk took a dig at US President Joe Biden, saying, “We had one president who couldn’t climb a flight of stairs and another who is fist pumping after getting shot.” He went on to emphasise Trump’s importance in the upcoming election, declaring, “Trump must win to preserve democracy in America.”

Donald Trump, speaking behind bulletproof glass at the rally, recalled the assassination attempt from July 13, where a bullet grazed his ear. He called the would-be assassin a “vicious monster.” Elon Musk, referencing the incident, said the 2024 election was the “most important election of our lifetime,” urging the crowd to rally behind Trump.

Elon Musk also encouraged supporters to take action, saying, “Get everyone you know, and everyone you don’t know, drag them to register to vote. If they don’t, this will be the last election. That’s my prediction.”

Following the rally, Elon Musk took to his X account, warning of a potential shift in the political landscape if Trump doesn’t win, writing, “The Democratic Party will legalize so many illegals that there will be no swing states. America will become a single-party socialist state, just like what happened to California, where they just made requiring voter ID illegal.”