Summary
Tesla replaced many laid-off U.S. workers with foreign H-1B visa holders after a 2024 wave of layoffs affecting 15,000 employees.
These visas, tied to employer sponsorship, often lower compensation and give employers significant leverage over workers.
Critics argue this displaces U.S. employees, as senior engineers were replaced by lower-paid junior engineers.
CEO Elon Musk, while advocating for expanding H-1B visa caps, faces backlash, especially from conservatives, for “job-stealing” concerns.
Musk contends there’s a U.S. skill shortage, but critics highlight potential exploitation tied to Tesla’s demanding work culture and visa dependence.
Expanding the program is fine, but raise the fees. A lot. If there is a real talent shortage, companies should be willing to pay it right? /s
Instead of choosing randomly, make companies bid with the salary offers and grant visa to the highest ones. I think that would solve a lot of problems with it.
Also, if it’s not already done, I like the idea of publishing all companies that have H-1Bs, the number of them, the job titles, and their complete compensation information for each one.
I like it.