Elon Musk sparks outrage amid H-1B debate: endorses post calling Americans ‘too retarded’ for skilled jobs

Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of X, SpaceX and Tesla, has ignited a political firestorm after endorsing a controversial social media post suggesting Americans were too “retarded” to be hired for skilled jobs.
The post, shared by a pro-Musk account, criticized divisions within the political right over H-1B visas, saying: “The tech right is like, ‘We need H-1B visa people to do the job ‘ and the real right is like, “No, you should hire Americans.” The tech right is like, ‘But you’re retarded,’ and the right is like, ‘Well, you don’t train us,’ and the technical right is like, ‘You can’t train being retarded.’
Musk replied, “That pretty much sums it up,” adding, “This was eye-opening.”

The remarks came hours after Musk defended one of his engineers accused of making racist, anti-white comments, further inflaming tensions over his views on the US workforce and immigration policy.
Ramaswamy defends foreign talent
Adding to the controversy, Vivek Ramaswamy, co-chairman of President-elect Donald Trump’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), drew backlash for his comments attributing the lack of competitive American engineers to cultural issues. “It’s not because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy and incorrect explanation). It all comes down to the c-word: culture,” Ramaswamy wrote on social media. Criticizing American societal values, he stated: “Movies glorify the prom queen , not the Math Olympiad champion. That mindset will not produce the best engineers.”

Ramaswamy warned that failure to address this cultural challenge could leave the United States at a disadvantage. “Normality does not cut it in a hyper-competitive global market for technical talent. If we pretend it does, we will have our a**es handed to us by China,” he wrote.
Haley and MAGA base are pushed back
Former US Ambassador Nikki Haley was quick to respond, defending American culture and workers. “There is nothing wrong with American workers or American culture. All you have to do is look at the border and see how many want what we have. We should invest in and prioritize Americans, not foreign workers,” Haley wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

The comments also deepened divisions within Trump’s base. Activist Laura Loomer criticized Indian-origin venture capitalist Sriram Krishnan, who was recently named Trump’s senior policy adviser on artificial intelligence. Loomer accused Krishnan of betraying the “America First” agenda, arguing that his support for eliminating country borders on green cards would disproportionately benefit workers from populous countries like India, which would disadvantage American STEM graduates.
Conservative commentator Scott Greer echoed these concerns, stating, “Eliminating the national borders would allow Indians to monopolize green cards, which means we would have an even greater influx of South Asians into this country. Trump supporters did not vote too dramatically to increase Indian migration.”
Tech executives defend immigration reform
Amid the backlash, some prominent figures in the technology sector defended the need for skilled foreign workers. Richard Hanania, a far-right commentator, highlighted the importance of foreign talent in maintaining US global competitiveness, while David Sacks, a key Trump ally, clarified that Krishnan supports a merit-based green card program rather than unlimited immigration.
Joe Lonsdale, co-founder of Palantir Technologies, supported the reforms, saying: “We need the best and brightest to lead in AI and technology. Without that, we risk losing our edge to nations like China.”
A breakup conservative movement
As Trump prepares to take office, the escalating debate underscores a growing rift in the conservative movement. While some prioritize economic pragmatism and the role of foreign talent in strengthening the US tech sector, others remain committed to the “America First” agenda, raising questions about how the incoming administration will reconcile these conflicting priorities.