Elon Musk Combats Anti-Immigration Sentiment in Posts Decrying ‘Dire Shortage’ of Tech Talent

Billionaire businessman and recently appointed government cost-cutter Elon Musk called for increased immigration of high-skilled foreign workers to the U.S. in several social media posts combating immigration restrictionists.

In a post on X, Musk decried a “permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent” in America, calling it the “fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Mario Nawfal, a businessman and influencer on X, quoted Musk’s post and said the U.S. semiconductor industry alone needs more than 160,000 engineers by 2032, citing McKinsey & Company.

“No, we need more like double that number yesterday!” Musk replied. “The number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low.”

{snip} “If you want your TEAM to win the championship, you need to recruit top talent wherever they may be,” he wrote.

His argument provoked backlash from immigration restrictionists, who replied that tech companies should look to the 330 million people in America for top talent instead of calling for more foreign workers to immigrate to the U.S.

“Your understanding of the situation is upside-down and backwards,” Musk said in response to a user who demanded to know why he would deny job opportunities to Americans.

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“If you force the world’s best talent to play for the other side, America will LOSE. End of story.”

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