The highly anticipated interview featuring Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Indian podcaster and Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath on the show ‘People by WTF‘ was released on Sunday, drawing massive attention for its insights into AI, entrepreneurship, and immigration policy.
Musk, who later reshared the post on his X handle, made several significant references to India and the contributions of Indian talent to the U.S. economy.
Musk’s Top Quotes and Discussion Points
Here are the key takeaways from the wide-ranging conversation:
1. On Indian Talent and the H-1B Visa Program
Musk strongly acknowledged the immense value skilled Indian immigrants bring to the U.S., while also speaking about immigration policy challenges.
- “I think America has benefitted immensely from talented Indians that have come to America. Yeah, America has been an immense beneficiary of talent from India.”
He, however, stressed the need to address misuse of the H-1B program:
- “I think there’s been some misuse of the H-1B Program. It would be accurate to say that there’s, you know, like some of the outsourcing companies have kind of gamed the system on the H-1B front, and we need to stop the gaming of the system. But I’m certainly not in the school of thought that we should shut down the H-1B Program.”
2. On the Future of Work and AI
Musk painted a futuristic picture of labor and societal contribution in an age dominated by artificial intelligence and robotics:
- “In less than 20 years, working at all will be optional… like a hobby pretty much… In less than 20 years, the advancements in AI or robotics will bring us to the point where working is optional.”
3. On Starlink’s Entry into India
Musk reaffirmed his desire to launch his satellite internet service, Starlink, in the Indian market:
- “And hopefully, India. We’d love to be operating in India. That would be great. We’re operating in 150 different countries, now, with Starlink.”
4. On Advice for Indian Entrepreneurs
When asked for advice for young Indian entrepreneurs, Musk emphasized being a net contributor to society:
- “I’m a big fan of anyone who wants to build. So I think anyone who wants to…you know, make more than they take, has my respect. So that’s the main thing you should aim for, aim to make more than you take. Be a, you know, a net contributor to society.”
5. On Personal Connection to India
Musk revealed a personal connection to Indian heritage through his partner and son:
- He shared that his partner, Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis, is “half-Indian.”
- He also revealed that the middle name of one of their sons is ‘Sekhar,’ named after the Nobel Prize-winning Indian-American astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. “One of my sons with her is, his middle name is Sekhar, after Chandrasekhar,” Musk said.