① Musk reiterated his concerns about U.S. tariff policies on Sunday, saying he had tried to persuade President Trump to abandon the tariff approach but failed; ② He also pointed out that the H-1B visa program is being abused by some companies; ③ He also predicted that in less than 20 years, jobs will become "optional" and the concept of money will "disappear".
American tech entrepreneur, Tesla In a podcast interview that aired last Sunday (November 30), CEO Elon Musk discussed several hot topics, including US tariffs and H-1B visas.
Musk, who has opposed the U.S. government's tariff policies on multiple occasions, reiterated his concerns on Sunday. He stated that he had attempted to persuade President Trump to abandon the tariff approach, but was unsuccessful .
Musk was once a close ally of Trump and was entrusted with the important task of leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after Trump took office, aiming to help the US government cut spending and eradicate waste. In late May of this year, Musk announced his departure from the DOGE. Subsequently, the two publicly broke off relations over Trump's "Big and Beautiful Act," but their relationship seems to be warming up recently.
“I think free trade is better overall,” Musk said, adding that tariffs distort markets. He argued that if tariffs at the individual level, or between U.S. states, would have disastrous economic consequences, “then why impose tariffs between countries?”
Musk also stated, "The president has made it clear that he likes tariffs."
Trump has imposed "reciprocal" tariffs on most countries around the world, some of which have reached agreements with the United States to reduce tariffs.
Regarding the H-1B visa, Musk stated that the United States has consistently benefited from talent from India, but also pointed out that the H-1B visa program has been abused by some companies .
He claimed that some companies use H-1B visas to hire foreign workers at “far lower costs than U.S. citizens,” and that his company hires foreign workers to make up for “a shortage of top talent.”
In September, Trump raised the H-1B visa fee to $100,000, which had a particularly significant impact on Indian workers, who make up more than 70% of H-1B visa holders. Last month, Trump appeared to soften his stance on the H-1B visa issue, stating in an interview that the U.S. sometimes needs foreign labor because it lacks "certain specific talents."
“I certainly don’t agree with the idea that we should shut down the H-1B program,” Musk said, adding that doing so “would have very bad consequences.”
In this podcast interview, Musk also outlined his vision for the future: predicting that in less than 20 years, jobs will become "optional," and the concept of money will "disappear." He also stated that energy is the true currency.
(Article source: CLS)
