Amid H-1B Debate, Elon Musk Flags 'Major Shortage' Of Americans Doing Challenging Work
“America has a major shortage of people who can do challenging physical work or who even wish to train to do so,” Musk said.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk has intensified the raging H-1B visa debate by claiming there is a "major shortage" of Americans willing to undertake or even train for "challenging physical work."
The comments, posted on X, came in response to Ford CEO Jim Farley's public alarm that his company is struggling to fill 5,000 high-paying mechanic positions.
“America has a major shortage of people who can do challenging physical work or who even wish to train to do so,” Musk said.
The public was quick to accuse Musk of applying the same argument previously used to justify foreign hiring in white-collar STEM fields to the blue-collar trades, further fueling the controversy over American labour and immigration policy.
Musk's post followed Farley’s statement that the 5,000 open mechanic roles offer an attractive annual salary of approximately $120,000, highlighting a broader crisis in vocational training and filling critical trade jobs across the US. Musk, a long-time advocate for the H-1B program, which is vital to his companies like Tesla and SpaceX, explicitly stated that the issue stems from Americans not wishing "to train to do so."
Musk's comments drew immediate and sharp backlash across social media platforms. Users accused corporate leaders of deliberately suppressing wages and dodging the responsibility of investing in American training programs, instead using the claim of a labour shortage as a pretext to hire cheaper foreign workers.
One frequently cited argument from social media users was that companies are seeking workers willing to perform physically demanding labour "at suppressed wages" and without corporate loyalty, arguing that numerous young Americans would eagerly accept a high-paying trade job if genuine training opportunities were provided.
The renewed controversy comes as the H-1B program faces increasing scrutiny and regulatory hurdles under the current administration, which recently imposed a hefty $100,000 fee on companies hiring new foreign workers. While the fee aims to curb alleged visa abuse, others like Musk continue to stress the need for specialised foreign talent, even as the administration sends mixed messages about the future of the skilled labour visa.
