Argument with Trump fans
“You have no idea”: Musk suddenly calls for more immigration
12/26/2024 – 9:52 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
Tesla boss Elon Musk surprisingly calls for more immigration, sparking a heated debate. Trump’s supporters in particular react outraged to Musk’s appeal.
According to Elon Musk, the technological supremacy of the USA is at stake – and he sees the solution in immigration. In a heated discussion on X, formerly Twitter, on December 25, Musk responded to a post by entrepreneur Mario Nawfal. This had pointed out the growing engineering crisis in the American semiconductor and AI industries. “The US needs more than 160,000 engineers by 2032,” Nawfal wrote, citing studies from Yahoo and McKinsey. Musk commented on this with a clear appeal: “We need more than twice that number – immediately!”
But that’s not enough. Musk followed up and focused on the shortage of highly qualified workers. He described the current situation as dramatic and drew a comparison to professional sports: “If you want to win the championship, you have to recruit top talent, wherever they are. This applies to teams as well as to nations.”
The Tesla and SpaceX boss’s demand immediately caused opposition. A user named “iamyesyouareno,” who promotes pro-Trump content in his profile, sharply criticized Musk’s statements. “There are over 330 million people in America. Surely there is enough talent to build your team. Why should real Americans lose this opportunity because foreigners come?” he wrote.
Musk countered firmly. In a lengthy post, he explained that his companies would prefer to hire Americans. But the job market doesn’t allow this. “You have no idea. Of course it would be easier to hire Americans. But there is a serious shortage of highly talented and motivated engineers,” he wrote. Musk also emphasized that the comparison with NBA teams makes it clear how important it is to recruit the best talent worldwide.
Mario Nawfal, whose original post sparked the discussion, underlined the importance of migration in his contribution. He called for reform of the education system and more workforce retraining programs. But he also came to the conclusion that this was not enough. “US global competitiveness is at stake,” Nawfal wrote.
Musk’s statements add an unexpected twist to the migration debate in the US. He, who in the past was often seen as a supporter of stricter border rules, is now clearly in favor of relaxing immigration policy – at least for highly qualified workers. It is not known whether Musk’s position is aligned with Donald Trump. Trump, with whom Musk works closely, is considered an opponent of immigration – and repeatedly states that he wants to fill jobs with Americans first.
