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Elon Musk says a “quiet trial” of Donald Trump’s controversial $5 million gold card visa is currently taking place.
Back in February, US president Trump announced his plan for a “gold card” visa initiative that would be sold for $5 million and allow wealthy people to live and work in America.
The visa was dubbed as “somewhat like a Green Card, but at a higher level of sophistication”, though many were sceptical of the numbers Trump claimed he could sell.
The exact details of the path to citizenship remain to be seen, but Musk claimed there is a trial ongoing at the moment.
On Sunday (11 May), in response to a post on X/Twitter about the gold card visa scheme, Musk said: “We’re doing a quiet trial to make sure the system works properly. Once it is fully tested, it will be rolled out to the public with an announcement by the President.”
Musk’s post came following a recent Wired report that revealed digital infrastructure related to the scheme was being rolled out by Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Though the gold card visa has not been formally announced by the White House, Wired reports some US permanent residents and foreign visitors are being asked if they have applied for a “Trump Card Visa” when accessing an online Global Entry application.
When the idea was first floated in February, Trump said buyers of cards would have the same rights as those with green cards – they would have the right to live and work in the US, but not the right to vote or run for public office.
He also claimed it would be “a route to citizenship”, but it is not yet clear how. Trump suggested that the “wealthy people” who purchased the visa will be “spending a lot of money, paying a lot of taxes and employing a lot of people”.
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