Elon Musk has threatened to ‘go to war’ with MAGA republicans after he defended visas for skilled foreigners.
The Tesla founder and billionaire, who was recruited by US President-elect Donald Trump to co-lead his new Department of Government Efficiency, has expressed his support for the H-1B visa, which allows highly educated immigrants to work in the US for up to six years.
His remarks about the immigration visa came after pharma entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who will co-run the DOGE with Musk, said this week that American culture was to blame for its need to hire foreign workers.
‘A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math Olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian [the top student in a class], will not produce the best engineers,’ he said on X.
To that, Musk responded in a tweet that has since been deleted: ‘That pretty much sums it up. This was eye-opening’.
The billionaire’s comments have enraged several Republicans who have an anti-immigration stance – which was a key feature of Trump’s electoral campaign.
Musk has clapped back however, and vowed to kick out ‘hateful, unrepentant racists’ from the Republican party’ in an X post.
He also tweeted that ‘the reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B.
Elon Musk has threatened to ‘go to war’ with MAGA republicans after he defended visas for skilled foreigners
Donald Trump elected Musk as head of the new Department of Government Efficiency
‘Take a big step back and F*** YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on the issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend’.
In a separate tweet he said: ‘America rose to greatness over the past 150 years, because it was a meritocracy more than anywhere else on Earth.
‘I will fight to my last drop of blood to ensure that it remains that land of freedom and opportunity.’
Former chief strategist for Trump Steve Bannon responded to one of Musk’s tweets by saying: ‘Someone please notify Child Protection Services – need to do a wellness check on this toddler.’
Meanwhile Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said: ‘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 be investing and prioritising in Americans, not foreign workers.’
At least 14 Republican X account holders have since claimed that their blue tick verification had been removed, which means they no longer have access to monetisation through their profiles.
President-elect Donald Trump listens to Elon Musk as he arrives to watch SpaceX’s mega rocket Starship lift off for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Nov. 19
Musk was born in South Africa and became an American citizen in 2002.
He has clarified that he wants exceptions to MAGA’s anti-immigration stance for the top 0.1% of foreign engineering talent, as he said it is ‘essential for America to keep winning’.
America is ‘mostly Americans’, he pointed out, which he considers ‘re***ded’.
The spat is the first within the coalition convened by Trump, which brought together Republican voters and the tech giant who contributed to his second presidential win.
It comes after CNN anchor Abby Phillip came out in defense of Trump loyalist Laura Loomer, amid her ongoing dispute with Elon Musk.
After infighting among MAGA conservatives who have voiced opinions on Musk’s view on immigration, Loomer has claimed the X CEO has limited her account.
In one exchange, Musk accused Loomer, who has 1.4 million followers and at the time had a verified account, of trolling amid a dispute about Indian tech workers visas.
Loomer’s account had remained active but she says she has lost monetization features and other perks.
The issue was brought up by Phillip on NewsNight who said: ‘[Loomer’s] saying that this is basically cancel culture that Elon Musk doesn’t like what she’s been saying and has basically locked her out of the platform.
‘It would not be the first time that this is he’s been accused of doing something like that.’
Her guest Coleman Hughes noted that Musk bought Twitter and promised to restore free speech, saying the Tesla CEO was a hypocrite on the issue.
Phillip added: ‘The free speech apparently doesn’t apply to criticizing Elon Musk.’
Loomer is not the only one having issues, with NBC reporting that at least 14 conservative accounts are voicing concerns they had been cut off by X.
On Thursday Musk posted a ‘reminder’ to X, writing that the site’s algorithm automatically reduces the reach of a user if they’re blocked or muted by other users.
He said: ‘If far more credible, verified subscriber accounts (not bots) mute/block your account compared to those who like your posts, your reach will decline significantly.’
Loomer has been frantically posting to the outlet to have her account returned to normal.
One post said: ‘Elon Musk has been a Republican for 5 minutes and now he wants to decide who gets to be a Republican.
‘Elon, you said you were a free speech absolutist. If you are, let’s please let all ideas flourish and we will let the best ideas win. Let’s embrace free speech absolutism.’
In another, she said: ‘We want to have a conversation with [Musk] but he limits the convo by deleting our check marks and by calling trolls and subt***s.
‘I’d be happy to have a conversation, but he limited my account. That’s a bad faith effort at conversation & debate.’
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