By R Anil Kumar
Washington DC, November 30: Amid ongoing discussions about immigration policies and the importance of attracting global talent, Tesla CEO Elon Musk acknowledged the significant contributions of Indian talent to the United States, noting that the country has significantly benefited from skilled Indians.
In an interview with Nikhil Kamath, Co-Founder of Zerodha, Musk discussed immigration policies and entrepreneurship.
“I think America has benefited immensely from talented Indians who have come to America. I mean, America’s been an immense beneficiary of talent from India,” he said.
Musk’s comments highlight the value of diversity and the impact of Indian professionals in various sectors, including technology and innovation. Many individuals of Indian origin have made significant contributions to the US economy, driving growth and innovation.
He emphasised the need for balanced immigration policies, criticising the Biden administration’s lack of border controls.
“I think there are different schools of thought. It’s not unanimous, but under the Biden administration, it was basically a total free-for-all with like no border controls. Unless you’ve got border controls. So you had massive amounts of illegal immigration under Biden, and actually, it also had like somewhat of a negative selection effect,” he said.
Musk said that open borders were detrimental as they allowed even criminals to enter the US.
“If there’s a massive financial incentive to come to the US illegally and get all these government benefits, then you’re going to necessarily create a diffusion gradient for people to come to the US. It’s an incentive structure that obviously made no sense. Like, you got to have border controls. It’s kind of ridiculous not to. Then that’s what the left wants to basically have: open borders. It doesn’t matter if someone knows what the situation is; it could be a criminal- doesn’t matter,” he said.
Elon Musk addressed concerns that talented immigrants are taking jobs from native-born citizens, saying he’s unsure about the validity of this perception. Based on his experience, he believes there’s a scarcity of talented people, suggesting that skilled immigrants are filling gaps rather than taking jobs.
“On the right, you’ve got a perception that somehow their jobs are being taken by talented people from other countries. I don’t know how real that is. My direct observation is that there’s always a scarcity of talented people,” he said.
Musk advised budding entrepreneurs to focus on creating value, working hard, and being prepared for failure.
“From my standpoint, we have a lot of difficulty finding enough talented people to get these difficult tasks done, and so more talented people would be good. But I guess some companies out there are making it more of a cost thing, where it’s like, okay, if they can employ someone for a fraction of the cost of an American citizen, then I guess these other companies would hire people just to save costs. But at my company, the issue is we are just trying to get the most talented people around the world,” he said.
When asked for advice for budding Indian entrepreneurs, Musk said that anyone who wants to make more than they take has his respect.
“I’m a big fan of anyone who wants to build. So I think anyone who wants to make more than they take has my respect. So that’s the main thing you should aim for,” he said.
He said that if one contributes to society, it is a pursuit of happiness.
“Aim to make more than you take. Be a net contributor to society. It’s kind of like the pursuit of happiness. If you want to create something that’s financially valuable, you don’t pursue that. It’s best to actually pursue making useful products and services. If you do that, then money will come as a natural consequence of that as opposed to pursuing money directly,” he said.
Musk further said that anyone who wants to make a company should work hard and brace for failure.
“Just like you can’t pursue happiness directly. You pursue things that lead to happiness, but it’s not like a direct pursuit. You do things like fulfilling work or study or friends, loved ones, that, as a result, make you happy. So this sounds like it’s self-evident, but generally, if somebody’s trying to make a company work, they should expect to grind super hard. Except that there’s like some meaningful chance of failure. But just focus on making the output worth more than the input. Are you a value creator? That’s what really matters,” he said.
