Elon Musk’s Tesla has become one of the top employers of H-1B workers, with over 1,700 H-1B visas approved for Tesla employees in 2020. This marks a significant reliance on skilled foreign workers as Tesla continues to grow. Musk’s early career began with illegal work on a student visa in the U.S., but now Tesla’s future is intertwined with the availability of H-1B workers, a visa program that is crucial for attracting talent to the tech industry.

The Trump administration’s immigration policies have raised concerns about the future of the H-1B visa program. In 2020, Trump issued an executive order suspending H-1B visa issuance, citing the need to protect American jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the order was blocked, the administration's stance on immigration has been to limit foreign workers. The future of the H-1B visa remains uncertain, especially with the cap on visas and the increasing demand for skilled workers in the tech sector.

Tech executives like Musk and David Sacks, co-chair of the Department of Government Efficiency, continue to advocate for more H-1B visas, arguing that the U.S. needs skilled foreign workers to drive innovation. With the new political landscape, it remains to be seen how visa policies will evolve and what impact this will have on companies like Tesla that rely heavily on H-1B workers.