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.)

US President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Indian-American entrepreneur and venture capitalist Sriram Krishnan as the senior White House policy advisor on artificial intelligence (AI). In a statement, Trump said Krishnan would shape and coordinate AI policy across the government. His work entails “working with the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.” The 78-year-old also mentioned Krishnan’s career, particularly his accomplishments as a founding member of Microsoft’s Windows Azure team.

I am pleased to announce the brilliant Team that will be working in conjunction with our White House A.I. & Crypto Czar, David O. Sacks. Together, we will unleash scientific breakthroughs, ensure America’s technological dominance, and usher in a Golden Age of American Innovation!…

— Trump Posts on ???? (@trump_repost) December 22, 2024

Mr Krishnan, sharing his excitement, said he would collaborate with David O. Sacks, the former COO of PayPal, the White House AI & Crypto Czar.

???????? I’m honored to be able to serve our country and ensure continued American leadership in AI working closely with @DavidSacks.

Thank you @realDonaldTrump for this opportunity. pic.twitter.com/kw1n0IKK2a

— Sriram Krishnan (@sriramk) December 22, 2024

5 key points about Sriram Krishnan:

1) Sriram Krishnan was born in Chennai, and he completed his BTech in Information Technology from SRM Engineering College in Kattankulathur, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. He moved to the US in 2005 at the age of 21. His father worked in insurance, and his mother was a homemaker.

2) Mr Krishnan’s journey in the tech world began at Microsoft in 2005. He also led product teams at Twitter, Yahoo!, Facebook and Snap. He developed mobile ad products during his tenure at Facebook (now Meta) and Snap.

3) He shares a professional bond with billionaire Elon Musk, who is also a part of Trump 2.0. Mr Krishnan worked with Musk to revamp Twitter (now X) after its acquisition in 2022. The entrepreneur has also been an advocate for leveraging technology to solve challenges between AI-driven models, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and large internet platforms.

4) In February 2021, Krishnan became a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), a venture capital firm. By 2023, he was leading the company’s London office. Krishnan left the organisation in November 2023.

5) He also gained recognition in 2021 as host of the podcast ‘The Aarthi and Sriram Show’ (formerly known as ‘The Good Time Show’). Mr Krishnan works on it with his wife, Aarthi Ramamurthy.