Trump Fans Turn On Elon Musk and Accuse Him of 'Removing X Checkmarks as Retaliation' After Billionaire Gets Brutal Backlash Over Visa Dispute
The billionaire supports the expansion of the H1-B program, and MAGA is not happy.
Dec. 27 2024, Published 1:30 p.m. ET
Elon Musk's positive image with hardcore Donald Trump supporters may have just been flushed away.
The Tesla billionaire caused a stir after openly supporting the expansion of the H-1B program – which offers visas to highly skilled foreign workers, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Musk ruffled MAGA feathers with his support of the H1-B program.
Earlier this week, Musk said American tech companies need "double" the amount of "super talented engineers" they have today, and explained: "Think of this like a pro sports team: if you want your TEAM to win the championship, you need to recruit top talent wherever they may be. That enables the whole TEAM to win."
The 53-year-old continued in a separate post on X: "OF COURSE my companies and I would prefer to hire Americans and we DO, as that is MUCH easier than going through the incredibly painful and slow work visa process.
"HOWEVER, there is a dire shortage of extremely talented and motivated engineers in America."
The Tesla billionaire received massive backlash for his views, claiming there's a 'dire shortage of extremely talented' workers in America.
Vivek Ramaswamy, who along with Musk were selected by president-elect Trump to run the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), also shared the same sentiment for the H-1B program.
Trump fans were quick to react to the pair's opinions as one person raged: "Keep Elon away from the White House!" and another added, "... So he imports and suppresses wages. He has a third of a billion. Where do you think it forms from? Theft of wages. You all voted for this."
A user reacted: "Just a reminder: the American people did not vote for Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, and H-1B visas," and one person said, "Apparently Elon only wants immigrants to get rid of high paying jobs."
The backlash led Musk to boot checkmarks off some X account, according to users.
Following the backlash, other users suddenly accused Musk of acting off "revenge" and booting some checkmarks from X – the entrepreneur owns 79% of X Corp.
One account on the social media platform with the handle of @ConservativeOG claimed to have lost its verification status alongside all its influencers.
They wrote: "Our brand did nothing. We spoke out against HB1 visas and it appears that @elonmusk intentionally shut us down? Is this the new status quo from America's 'most free' social media platform?"
Others followed suit as one person said: "So @elonmusk stripped the blue check because someone hurt his feelings?"
"Elon Musk is getting cooked so bad he changed the algorithm and is now revoking checkmarks... what a bozo," another joked, as a commenter claimed, "Elon Musk has removed the check marks of people who criticize him... you are evil bro."
Musk is no stranger to massive pushback as earlier this month he was called out over claims he was set to give a right-wing political party in the UK a $100million donation.
He previously met with Reform party leader Nigel Farage at Trump's Mar-A-Lago residence to discuss a potential link-up.
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Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will be leading the Department of Government Efficiency.
Farage said at the time they had discussed money and there would be "ongoing negotiations" with Musk, who later claimed on X it is "time for massive Reform in Britain."
Farage, 60, described his hour-long meeting with Musk as "great" and "historic," however, critics weren't as happy.
One said: "Elon Musk and Nigel Farage. Terrifying and dangerous," and one went off: "Elon Musk is sticking his nose into UK politics..."
