Elon Musk on Nikhil Kamath podcast: 'Tariffs are hurting trade, immigration is vital, Starlink is ready for India'

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, during his latest WTF podcast with Zerodha Co-founder Nikhil Kamath, spoke on the three key topics concerning India -- tariffs, immigration, and his company Starlink's India plans.

On the topic of US tariffs, Musk said he thinks generally free trade is more efficient, and that tariffs tend to create distortions in markets. When asked how the current political enthusiasm for tariffs might play out, Musk pointed directly to the President’s stance, saying, “The President (Donald Trump) has made it clear he loves tariffs.” Musk shared that although he has attempted to push back, he shares, “I’ve tried to dissuade him from this point of view, but unsuccessfully.”

India faces one of the highest U.S. tariff rates — around 50% on certain exports to the US. Despite ongoing trade negotiations, the two countries have yet to reach a consensus.

On the topic of immigration, particularly the long-standing flow of Indian talent into the United States, Musk said he's is unequivocal about its impact: “I think America has benefited immensely from talented Indians that have come to America.” But when asked why the climate around immigration appears to have shifted, Musk explains, “It was basically a total free-for-all with no border controls… unless you’ve got border controls, you’re not a country.”

In September this year, reports circulated claiming that the U.S. planned to sharply increase H-1B visa fees, a move widely interpreted as a stricter stance on high-skilled immigration from countries like India.

He said this produced “massive amounts of illegal immigration under the Biden administration,” and even a “negative selection effect,” where poorly designed incentives attracted the wrong kind of inflow. Meanwhile, on the right, there is “a perception that somehow their jobs are being taken by talented people from other countries.” Still, he acknowledged saying, “There has been some misuse of the H1B program. Some of the outsourcing companies have kind of gamed the system.” He supports fixing those abuses, but not dismantling the program: “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 H1B program.”

The multi-billionaire also talked about Starlink’s future in India, “SpaceX is doing great work with the Starlink program, providing low-cost, reliable internet throughout the world. We'd love to be operating in India.”

Nikhil probed Starlink’s urban potential in India’s connectivity landscape: “Starlink works differently than it might be in a place with not as many people. Can you explain how it works?” Elon clarified that Starlink isn’t designed to replace urban networks but instead provides a transformative solution for remote regions, offering a lens to explore technology, policy, and social impact. He sets realistic expectations for rural deployment, highlighting, “It's not physically possible for Starlink to serve densely populated cities… maybe 1% or 2%… but it can be much more effective in rural areas.”

Notably, Starlink has already received the space regulator IN-SPACe's approval in India, and Maharashtra has become the first state to sign a letter of intent (LOI) with the company. Elon Musk's Starlink is one of the largest companies in the ICT industry, holding the largest number of communication satellites in the world. It operates the world’s largest satellite constellation, with more than 6,750 satellites currently in orbit, serving millions of active customers around the globe with high-speed, low-latency internet. These satellites, orbiting at 550 kilometres compared to 36,000 kilometres for geostationary satellites, offer low latency (time delay between a request and response measured in milliseconds) globally.