In this case, I'm afraid it's more than that. Musk et al. know what it takes to win in the technical race they must win or die. They know what winning that race means to America, which is also a win or die competition. They are habituated to that pressure, doing what it takes to win. Yes, they got rich. But I don't seen an exodus of workers from SpaceX; I see real enthusiasm in that control room.
So this is more complicated than simply "more-for-less." They'll pay what it costs to get what they need... to win. I really don't think either Elon or Vivek is so stupid as to fail to anticipate the backlash they're getting. They're telling us what that takes to win in this global marketplace for skilled labor. So I see this as a sad reality, which is why I think they were willing to bring it up at all.
You’re wrong.
SpaceX has no meaningful competition.
Neither did Microsoft, back in the day.
Musk said the companies that made America strong are because of H1-Bs.
But America is only a shell of what it used to be.