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Two billionaires are in loggerheads again on battleground X. This time, an Indian-American billionaire and Khosla Ventures founder, Vinod Khosla, has taken a sharp 'racist' dig at Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk. Khosla reposted an old Musk tweet and accused him of promoting racism and divisive views. He even made an open call to Musk's employees to quit and join firms backed by him.
X owner, who is never one to back down, made a stinging reply to Khosla, hurling a few insults at the billionaire. But who is Khosla taking a direct shot at Musk? And why are the tech giants fighting? We take a look.
Born in Pune on January 28, 1955, Khosla grew up in a Punjabi family. His father was an Indian Army officer, and he often encouraged Khosla to enlist in the military. However, from an early age, Khosla nurtured a different ambition: to start a Silicon Valley company by the age of 15, as reported by the
Times of India (TOI).
He graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi in 1976 with a Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Engineering. According to reports, he first tried to establish his business in India. One of his early attempts was a soy milk startup; however, regulatory and structural barriers forced him to explore opportunities abroad.
In 1970, he immigrated to the United States. Khosla pursued his master's in Biomedical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. He also holds an MBA degree from Stanford Graduate School of Business, TOI reported.
According to his LinkedIn profile, in 1986, he co-founded Daisy Systems, a Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) company. However, the Khosla's major breakthrough came in 1982, when he co-founded Sun Microsystems along with Scott McNealy, Andy Bechtolsheim and Bill Joy.
The company went on to emerge as one of the defining tech firms of the internet era. Khosla climbed Sun’s leadership ladder, first becoming chairman and then CEO. At its peak in 2000, Sun Microsystems boasted a market capitalisation of $150 billion (roughly Rs 13.75 lakh crores), making it the largest Indian-founded corporation at the time.
In 1986, Khosla left Sun and transitioned fully into venture capital. In 2004, he started Khosla Ventures, which invested in more science-based experimental technologies, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Khosla Ventures has become known for embracing high-risk and unconventional ideas. The firm was among the first ones to invest in OpenAI. It also focuses on long-term bets in areas like climate tech and healthcare innovation.
Khosla is married to Neeru Khosla, co-founder and chair of the CK-12 Foundation, which is an education-focused nonprofit, according to TOI. They are parents to four children: Nina Khosla, Vani Khosla, Neal Khosla, and Anu Khosla.
According to Forbes, Khosla’s net worth is estimated at $13.3 billion (around Rs 1.21 lakh crore). He counts among the wealthiest Indian-American entrepreneurs in tech and venture capital.
On Monday (January 26), Khosla dug up an old post by Musk from September 2025, in which X owner wrote, "White people are a rapidly diminishing minority of the global population.”
Khosla criticised Musk over what he called an inflammatory and racist remark. He even accused the Tesla CEO of promoting an ideology based on race rather than merit.
He also urged workers and staff at Tesla, SpaceX and other big companies led by Musk to quit their jobs and join Khosla Ventures' portfolio. The call-out focuses particularly on “non-white” and “decent white” workers.
"Elon Musk doesn't want MAGA, he wants WAGA or "white America great again" as a racism is great and desirable" paradigm. All non-whites in Tesla, SpaceX, X, etc., and all decent whites should quit and join our portfolio. Email us your LinkedIn!," Khosla wrote on X.
While Khosla cited an older Musk post, the SpaceX founder’s remarks on immigration have continued to draw attention.
Earlier this month, Musk faced backlash for seemingly endorsing a post suggesting white men could be at existential risk if they became a minority. Musk responded with a “100” emoji, which many saw as a signal of agreement,
Moneycontrol reported.
Dismissing Khosla’s criticism, Musk called the Indian-American billionaire a "pompous a******." The SpaceX founder argued that his partner, Shivon Alice Zilis, is half-Indian and one of his children has been named in honour of the renowned Indian-American physicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.
"Vinod, you’re not just such a pompous a****** that you tried to stop the public from using a public beach near your house, you’ve also gone full retard. My partner, Shivon, is half Indian, and my eldest son with her is named in honour of the great Indian physicist Chandrasekhar," he wrote on X.
Musk, in his post, also referred to Khosla's years-long attempt to block public access to a beach near the venture capitalist's home on the Peninsula coast in San Mateo County.
For years, Khosla has fought against public access to Martins Beach, which runs through his $37 million estate (roughly Rs 310 crore). He has also filed multiple lawsuits over the issue, reported Business Insider.
This was not the first clash between two billionaires. Earlier, in 2024, Khosla declined to endorse President Donald Trump after Musk urged the VC to vote for the Trump-Vance government during the presidential election, the media outlet reported.
That's not all, according to several media reports, Khosla also called Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI "a bit of sour grapes."
With inputs from agencies
X owner, who is never one to back down, made a stinging reply to Khosla, hurling a few insults at the billionaire. But who is Khosla taking a direct shot at Musk? And why are the tech giants fighting? We take a look.
About Indian-American billionaire Khosla
Born in Pune on January 28, 1955, Khosla grew up in a Punjabi family. His father was an Indian Army officer, and he often encouraged Khosla to enlist in the military. However, from an early age, Khosla nurtured a different ambition: to start a Silicon Valley company by the age of 15, as reported by the
He graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi in 1976 with a Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Engineering. According to reports, he first tried to establish his business in India. One of his early attempts was a soy milk startup; however, regulatory and structural barriers forced him to explore opportunities abroad.
In 1970, he immigrated to the United States. Khosla pursued his master's in Biomedical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. He also holds an MBA degree from Stanford Graduate School of Business, TOI reported.
Billionaire and Khosla Ventures founder Vinod Khosla counts among the wealthiest Indian-American entrepreneurs in tech and venture capital. Image courtesy: Vinod Khosla/LinkedIn
According to his LinkedIn profile, in 1986, he co-founded Daisy Systems, a Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) company. However, the Khosla's major breakthrough came in 1982, when he co-founded Sun Microsystems along with Scott McNealy, Andy Bechtolsheim and Bill Joy.
The company went on to emerge as one of the defining tech firms of the internet era. Khosla climbed Sun’s leadership ladder, first becoming chairman and then CEO. At its peak in 2000, Sun Microsystems boasted a market capitalisation of $150 billion (roughly Rs 13.75 lakh crores), making it the largest Indian-founded corporation at the time.
In 1986, Khosla left Sun and transitioned fully into venture capital. In 2004, he started Khosla Ventures, which invested in more science-based experimental technologies, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Khosla Ventures has become known for embracing high-risk and unconventional ideas. The firm was among the first ones to invest in OpenAI. It also focuses on long-term bets in areas like climate tech and healthcare innovation.
Khosla is married to Neeru Khosla, co-founder and chair of the CK-12 Foundation, which is an education-focused nonprofit, according to TOI. They are parents to four children: Nina Khosla, Vani Khosla, Neal Khosla, and Anu Khosla.
According to Forbes, Khosla’s net worth is estimated at $13.3 billion (around Rs 1.21 lakh crore). He counts among the wealthiest Indian-American entrepreneurs in tech and venture capital.
Khosla's 'racist' dig at Musk
On Monday (January 26), Khosla dug up an old post by Musk from September 2025, in which X owner wrote, "White people are a rapidly diminishing minority of the global population.”
Khosla criticised Musk over what he called an inflammatory and racist remark. He even accused the Tesla CEO of promoting an ideology based on race rather than merit.
He also urged workers and staff at Tesla, SpaceX and other big companies led by Musk to quit their jobs and join Khosla Ventures' portfolio. The call-out focuses particularly on “non-white” and “decent white” workers.
.@elonmusk doesn't want MAGA, he wants WAGA or "white America great again" as a racism is great and desirable" paradigm. All non-whites in @tesla, @SpaceX @X etc and all decent whites should quit and join our portfolio. Email us your linkedin! https://t.co/NmbM19AnnC
— Vinod Khosla (@vkhosla) January 27, 2026
"Elon Musk doesn't want MAGA, he wants WAGA or "white America great again" as a racism is great and desirable" paradigm. All non-whites in Tesla, SpaceX, X, etc., and all decent whites should quit and join our portfolio. Email us your LinkedIn!," Khosla wrote on X.
While Khosla cited an older Musk post, the SpaceX founder’s remarks on immigration have continued to draw attention.
Earlier this month, Musk faced backlash for seemingly endorsing a post suggesting white men could be at existential risk if they became a minority. Musk responded with a “100” emoji, which many saw as a signal of agreement,
Musk claps back at Khosla
Dismissing Khosla’s criticism, Musk called the Indian-American billionaire a "pompous a******." The SpaceX founder argued that his partner, Shivon Alice Zilis, is half-Indian and one of his children has been named in honour of the renowned Indian-American physicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.
"Vinod, you’re not just such a pompous a****** that you tried to stop the public from using a public beach near your house, you’ve also gone full retard. My partner, Shivon, is half Indian, and my eldest son with her is named in honour of the great Indian physicist Chandrasekhar," he wrote on X.
Vinod, you’re not just such a pompous asshole that you tried to stop the public from using a public beach near your house, you’ve also gone full retard.
My partner, Shivon, is half Indian and my eldest son with her is named in honor of the great Indian physicist Chandrasekhar.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 27, 2026
Musk, in his post, also referred to Khosla's years-long attempt to block public access to a beach near the venture capitalist's home on the Peninsula coast in San Mateo County.
For years, Khosla has fought against public access to Martins Beach, which runs through his $37 million estate (roughly Rs 310 crore). He has also filed multiple lawsuits over the issue, reported Business Insider.
This was not the first clash between two billionaires. Earlier, in 2024, Khosla declined to endorse President Donald Trump after Musk urged the VC to vote for the Trump-Vance government during the presidential election, the media outlet reported.
That's not all, according to several media reports, Khosla also called Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI "a bit of sour grapes."
With inputs from agencies
