Elon Musk tells Nikhil Kamath the name of the Indian Physicists he has named his son after

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has now revealed that his son’s middle name Shekar is inspired by a legendary Indian-American physicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, best known for his groundbreaking work on the evolution of stars. During a conversation on Nikhil Kamath’s People by WTF podcast, Musk made this revelation.

Speaking at the podcast interview, Musk said, “My partner is half Indian. My son’s middle name is Sekhar, after the famous Indian physicist.” The physicist in question, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, won the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics for his theoretical studies on the structure and evolution of stars, including the discovery of the Chandrasekhar limit that determines whether a star becomes a white dwarf or collapses into a black hole.

Elon Musk’s Indian connection

The revelation made by Elon Musk underscores his personal ties to India. Elon Musk’s partner and popular musician Grimes has India heritage. Grimes once revealed that her step-father is India. Grimes once said, “My step dad’s Indian, I had a fire childhood in a half Indian household. Indian culture jives very well with western culture.”

Along with this, Musk has also spoken about India’s role and importance in the global technology and energy landscape. Naming his son after Chandrasekhar reflects both a personal and symbolic connection to India’s scientific legacy.

Elon Musk agrees America has benefitted from talented Indians

Speaking the podcast, Elon Musk also acknowledged that “America has benefitted immensely from talented Indians”, however, noted that “there has been some misuse of the H-1B Program.” Last year, Musk spoke out in defense of immigrants, specifically praising those who have significantly contributed to the US economy. He advocated for immigration of skilled workers, arguing it is essential to fill the nation’s talent gap.

When asked “why has that narrative changed of late?” Musk said that “there's different schools of thought.”

“And it actually also had like somewhat of a negative selection effect. So, if there's a massive financial incentive to come to the US illegally and get all these government benefits, then you're gonna necessarily create a diffusion gradient for people to come to the US. It's an incentive structure. And so, I think, that obviously made no sense.

Musk says there has been a misuse of H1-B visa

Musk also highlighted the misuse of the H1-B programme, saying that amid the need for skilled workers, there has been a misuse of the visa system.

“My direct observation is that there's always a scarcity of talented people. So, from my standpoint, I'm like, ‘We have a lot of difficulty finding enough talented people to get these difficult tasks done. And so more talented people would be good’,” he said.

“But I guess, some companies out there, it's sort of, they're making it more of a cost thing, where it's like, okay, if they can employ someone for a fraction of the cost of an American citizen, then, I guess, these other companies would hire people just to save costs,” Musk added.

According to Musk, his companies focus on “trying to get the most talented people in the world. And we pay way above average.”