Elon Musk says the US is running a 'quiet trial' of Trump's $5 million gold card for the ultrawealthy
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- Elon Musk says Trump's "gold card" immigration program is already in quiet testing.
- The new program offers fast-tracked US residency to foreign investors paying $5 million upfront.
- Trump intends the program to replace the current EB-5 immigrant investor visa.
Elon Musk said on Sunday that President Donald Trump's new "gold card" immigration program is already being tested.
"We're doing a quiet trial to make sure the system works properly," he said in an X post. "Once it is fully tested, it will be rolled out to the public with an announcement by the President."
Trump's gold card program is intended to replace the EB-5 immigrant investor visa, which has allowed foreign nationals to apply for US residency by investing a minimum of $1.05 million — or $800,000 in rural and high-unemployment areas — in a commercial enterprise that creates American jobs.
Trump's version significantly raises the price of admission: $5 million upfront, no job creation requirement, and faster access to work and residency privileges.
"You have a green card, this is a gold card," Trump told reporters in February, adding that wealthy investors would help boost the US economy by "spending a lot of money and paying a lot of taxes, and employing a lot of people."
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who helped craft the program, said the current EB-5 system is "full of nonsense, make-believe, and fraud," and said the new plan would attract only "world-class global citizens."
Critics have raised concerns about transparency, favoritism, and national security — especially after Trump said he wouldn't rule out selling gold cards to Russian oligarchs, insisting some are "very nice people."
Lutnick pushed back, saying there would be a vetting process to ensure only acceptable applicants are approved.
Programs offering residency or citizenship in exchange for investment aren't new.
Countries like the United Arab Emirates and several Caribbean nations offer so-called "citizenship by investment" options, but Trump's proposal has reignited a debate over whether US immigration policy should cater to the ultrawealthy.