Israel and Syria agree to ceasefire, says U.S. ambassador to Türkiye
The U.S. ambassador to Türkiye says Israel and Syria have reached a ceasefire deal supported by Türkiye, Jordan, and regional actors after cross-bor...
Elon Musk is facing backlash from the right after suggesting the U.S. needs more skilled foreign workers to address a shortage of top engineers. His comments, made amid mass tech layoffs and ongoing debates over the H1-B visa system, have sparked outrage, particularly from pro-Trump conservatives.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk has come under fire from the right on X following comments that seem to encourage high-skilled immigration to the United States and hiring of foreign workers over local talent, namely in the tech industry.
Musk, who arrived in the U.S. from his home country of South Africa in the early 90s, spoke about a “dire shortage of extremely talented and motivated engineers in America,” he tweeted on Wednesday.
“If you force the world’s best talent to play for the other side, America will LOSE. End of story,” he continued.
Elon’s remarks follow another huge round of tech lay-offs, which saw over 130,000 jobs from 457 companies cut nationwide this year.
Top American companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft and the Musk-headed Tesla made redundancies this year. They also lead the way when it comes to visa sponsorship of foreign workers under the H1-B visa system.
H1-B visas are non-immigrant visas that allow employers to hire highly skilled foreign workers. First introduced in 1991, they have been a sore point for those on the right who feel like the system unfairly prioritises non-American workers because they are often cheaper hires. “100k tech workers laid off this year. “Dire shortage” does not pass the smell test. Let’s face it, salary is a huge factor here, no?,” tweeted one X account holder.
The X CEO’s seeming u-turn has sparked outrage from conservatives, many of whom supported his involvement in Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, which made immigration a central issue.
“We need to cultivate American talent - telling young software engineers that they can be replaced by cheap foreign labor at any time is a perverse incentive structure and it will dissuade the best and brightest Americans from entering those fields,” wrote one popular, pro-Trump account.
Some criticism has veered into anti-Indian sentiment, fueled by the appointment of Indian-American entrepreneur Sriram Krishnan as a senior AI policy adviser under the incoming Trump administration.
“Did any of yall vote for this Indian to run America?” snarked one critic on Tuesday in a viral tweet. While one popular pro-MAGA, pro-Trump, @LauraLoomer, wrote, ““High skilled immigrant” Doesn’t have running water or toilet paper. Lmao.”
Loomer has since faced backlash from many fellow X users. “India does have many very intelligent people. It doesn’t reflect well on you to demean someone for coming from poverty.”
Musk himself has reportedly retaliated by removing Loomer’s blue tick verification mark and her subscribers. In what seemed like a covert warning, Musk tweeted, “any accounts found to be engaged in coordinated attacks to spam target accounts with mute/blocks will themselves be categorized – correctly – as spam.”
While some users have called Musk’s actions “censorship,” others have defended his stance. Indian-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy echoed Musk’s comments, tweeting, “America-First means we want America to WIN. Playing for second place doesn’t cut it.”
The clash highlights growing tensions among American conservatives over immigration, the economy and the role of foreign talent in shaping the country’s future.
The world’s biggest dance music festival faces an unexpected setback as a fire destroys its main stage, prompting a last-minute response from organisers determined to keep the party alive in Boom, Belgium.
China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will send an upgraded ‘version 3.0’ free-trade agreement to their heads of government for approval in October, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday after regional talks in Kuala Lumpur.
Germany's export slump since 2021 is largely driven by deep-rooted competitiveness issues, the Bundesbank warned in its latest report, calling for urgent structural reforms.
Israeli researchers have unveiled an artificial intelligence tool that can determine a person’s true biological age from tiny DNA samples with remarkable precision.
Two Harry Potter actresses, Emma Watson and Zoe Wanamaker, have each received a six-month driving ban after separate speeding offences, both sentenced on the same day at a Buckinghamshire court.
North Korea has stopped foreign tourists from visiting its new Wonsan-Kalma resort just weeks after it welcomed the first Russian visitors.
U.S. President Donald Trump says Coca-Cola has agreed to use real cane sugar in the U.S., though the company has not confirmed the claim.
The U.S. ambassador to Türkiye says Israel and Syria have reached a ceasefire deal supported by Türkiye, Jordan, and regional actors after cross-border strikes this week heightened tensions.
The Trump administration has completed a controversial prisoner swap with Venezuela, returning around 250 deported Venezuelans in exchange for 10 American detainees.
Congo and the M23 rebel group have agreed on a declaration of principles after months of Qatar-mediated talks, aiming to end fighting in the country’s east.
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