I see what you're saying but let me give a counterpoint:

Do you think it's good for a team to not trade for an awesome player because they are afraid that some current players (who they like) are going to be upset about having to ride the bench?

In my view, how the team as a whole is doing (US) is ultimately what's going to be better for everyone.  Big innovations really do trickle down. And what hurts now will be to our benefit in the coming years.

playing /bracket, assisting /bracky, talking /greatbooks

Is he building America’s team or his own?

🥑🍋 Farmer / LAMP stack dev / Husband / 🌈 Dad / Web1 dude loving a web3 world / Collector of things digital & physical / 
CdeP ‘94 

He seems to say that his team winning depends on America's team winning. This makes sense to me.

Back to the sports analogy.  How does a privately owned team having a winning lineup benefit the population at large?  Better entertainment?  No. It’s just helping the guys at the top make bigger profits.

I think this is overstating how much this broad policy – skilled immigration – will impact Elon's companies compared to US at large.

The US benefits directly from the policy; Elon's companies benefit incidentally, being US companies.

Or do you think that Elon's companies are going to be winning from these policies *at the expense* of the US as a whole?

I don't think I've bought into a narrative. I understand that most people have private interests that they pursue above all else, and I don't really expect Elon to be different there. I just think it makes sense in this case that Elon's interests (US leading the world in high tech development) are aligned with those of the US at large. So if he personally wins due to the US as a whole winning first, that does not bother me.  It's a net good.

You seem to be confident that Elon interests must be directly misaligned with those of the whole country. But I haven't seen you show any specific evidence for that.  It seems more like a general feeling you have about billionaires in general and Elon in specific.

You’ve bought into the billionaires narrative.  Elon’s companies benefit directly.  The U.S. benefit is incidental if there is any. The 6000 people he laid off at Twitter sure aren’t singing his praise.