Elon Musk decried a "dire shortage" of engineering talent in the U.S. in social media posts advocating for increased high-skill immigration.

Trump administration adviser Elon Musk angered MAGA supporters with his approval of a social media post sarcastically explaining that immigrants are needed for tech jobs because U.S. workers aren’t qualified enough.

Tech Right feud that kicked off over Christmas, spurred by a divide on allowing skilled immigrant workers to come stateside, was escalated by Elon Musk on Thursday. Trump’s “first buddy” declared far-right characters including former Trump orbiter Laura Loomer to be trolls and allegedly removed their verification status on Twitter.

A multi-day firestorm has erupted over comments made by two incoming advisers to President-elect Donald Trump about H-1B temporary worker visas, a carve-out for high-skilled workers that some in MAGA world say are taking American jobs.

The rift laid bare the tensions between wealthy members of the tech world – including Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy and their call for more highly skilled workers – and people in President-elect Trump’s MAGA base who championed his hard-line immigration policies.