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The internal division of the MAGA organization over the H-1B visa continues to play out on X when Elon Musk attacked a critic of the program on Friday using an offensive quote from Tom Cruise’s character in the movie “Tropic Thunder.”
Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, appointed by President-elect Trump to lead his Department of Government Operations (DOGE), argued earlier this week that American culture has not prioritized education enough and therefore foreign workers are needed for technology companies like Musk’s SpaceX and. Tesla.
Many tech companies have adopted the H-1B visa program, which allows US companies to hire foreign workers for specialized jobs, but critics of the program say H-1B holders are often preferred over US citizens for jobs. One of the reasons for this is that foreign workers are tied to their employers on H-1B visas – as the company is required to sponsor the visa — so quitting a job could eventually see foreign workers lose their visas and their skills. legal stay in the country.
Elon Musk blasted X for the dirty lyrics from “Tropic Thunder.” (Photos by Lisa Maree Williams / Getty Images)
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On Friday, Musk doubled down on his defense of the program, blasting a user on X who shared a video of Musk discussing SpaceX’s procedures for tracking the billionaire’s status in the visa program.
“The reason I’m in America and so many critical people who build SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of companies that make America strong is because of H1B,” Musk wrote on X.
He then went on to quote the 2008 comedy film, which was a box office hit.
“Take a big step back and F— YOURSELF in the face,” Musk said.
The line, though not verbatim, comes from a scene in the film where Tom Cruise’s character Les Grossman, a bald, profanity-laced and aggressive studio executive, roars to a group of hostages in a memorable scene.
Grossman then went on to threaten the hostages, saying he would go to the “hot sand” and “kill them”. The explosion leaves the kidnappers and Matthew McConaughey, who plays Rick “The Pecker” Peck, stunned into silence. The film also stars Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black and Nick Nolte.
Musk also invoked Grossman’s confrontational nature with the X user, ending his tweet last Friday by writing: “I’m going to fight this issue that you won’t understand.”
Tom Cruise as Les Grossman in “Tropic Thunder.” (DreamWorks Pictures and Red Hour Productions / Fox News)
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Musk then went on to engage with other commentators on the topic, saying he agreed with another poster who wrote that the visa system needs to be reformed and that Musk “defends meritocracy and the American Dream for tech innovators at all costs.”
Elsewhere, Musk agreed with a separate post that said Google, Intel and Tesla were all founded or built by immigrants and that H-1B visa workers have successfully placed 15% of the largest technology companies. The position noted that a third of the positions in this sector are not filled every year and that foreign workers are needed in the short term to fill this gap.
On Christmas Day, Musk wrote that he and his companies would like to hire Americans — and that it’s much easier than going through the “incredibly painful work visa process.”
“However, there is a huge shortage of extremely talented and motivated engineers in America. This is not about handing out opportunities with a magic hat. You don’t get them. This is blindingly obvious when you look at NBA teams, as the physical differences are very obvious to see,” Musk wrote.
“However, the MIND difference between people is MUCH BIGGER than the physical difference!!”
SpaceX launch. Musk says immigrants are needed in the tech sector. (SpaceX / FOXBusiness)
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He also wrote that hiring immigrants is essential to America’s future intelligence.
“It comes down to this: do you want America to WIN or do you want America to LOSE,” he wrote. “If you force the best talent in the world to play for the other side, America will LOSE. End of story.”
This is not the first time Musk has asked for Tropic Thunder online. In August, he presented a similar line to Thierry Breton, the French business magnate and former European Commissioner for Internal Markets and Services who threatened to expel X.
Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
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