Vinod Khosla challenges Elon Musk's companies: Urges non-white employees to seek new opportunities
TOI GLOBAL DESK | TOI GLOBAL | Jan 28, 2026, 19:42 IST
In a polarizing move, Vinod Khosla, the Indian-American venture capitalist, has ignited controversy by urging non-white employees at Elon Musk's companies to consider resigning. Khosla contends that Musk is perpetuating a racially exclusive narrative similar to the MAGA movement, a stark divergence from fellow tech leaders who generally support Trump's ideologies.
Indian-American venture capitalist Vinod Khosla has sparked a political and cultural debate by urging non-white employees at Elon Musk's companies to quit and join his firm, accusing Musk of promoting a racially exclusionary version of the MAGA movement. Khosla's public opposition to President Donald Trump and his allies in Silicon Valley contrasts sharply with the prevailing trend of tech leaders aligning with Trump's agenda.
Khosla, a billionaire tech figure, directly addressed employees of Tesla, SpaceX, and X in a viral post on X. He suggested that if they disagreed with Musk's perceived ideology, they should seek employment elsewhere. Khosla specifically invited "all non-whites… and all decent whites" at Musk's companies to resign and send their LinkedIn profiles to Khosla Ventures.
This call to action came in response to Musk's comments about white people becoming a "rapidly diminishing minority." Khosla interpreted Musk's stance as advocating for a "WAGA ‘white America great again’ as a ‘racism is great and desirable’ paradigm."
Elon Musk responded to Khosla's remarks on X.
“@elonmusk doesn’t want MAGA, he wants WAGA ‘white America great again’ as a ‘racism is great and desirable’ paradigm.”
![Vinod Khosla]()
Musk also retorted to Khosla's invitation.
“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]()
He reminded Khosla of his own family connections to India. Musk pointed out that his partner, Shivon, is of Indian heritage. He also noted that his eldest son with her is named in honor of the renowned Indian physicist Chandrasekhar.
Khosla's criticism of Musk is part of a broader pattern of his outspoken opposition to Donald Trump. For months, Khosla has used social media to critique Trump's leadership, values, and governance. In January 2026, he characterized the Trump administration's agenda as "The Undoing Project." He accused Trump of orchestrating a "rampant, multifarious attack on American values, norms, institutions, laws, and democracy."
This stance places Khosla in opposition to the dominant direction within the tech industry. A significant number of influential figures in tech, often referred to as "tech bros," have openly or implicitly supported the MAGA movement. Elon Musk is a central figure in this group. He has made substantial donations to Trump's campaign and is considered the president's most influential ally in Silicon Valley. Other prominent individuals associated with Trump's orbit include PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, investor David Sacks, and venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. These individuals have expressed support for Trump's policies, such as deregulation, tax cuts, and a less stringent regulatory approach to artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency.
Even executives who previously expressed skepticism towards Trump have largely shifted towards pragmatic engagement. Leaders from major tech companies like Meta (Mark Zuckerberg), Amazon (Jeff Bezos), Apple (Tim Cook), Google (Sundar Pichai), Microsoft (Satya Nadella), and IBM (Arvind Krishna) have attended Trump events. They have also increased their political donations and pledged significant investments in the United States. Tech industry lobbying efforts have reached record levels. The underlying calculation for these companies appears to be that gaining access, influence, and regulatory relief outweighs any ideological discomfort.
In contrast to this trend, open opposition to Trump from prominent tech figures has become rare. Aside from Vinod Khosla, only a few well-known individuals, such as LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and entrepreneur Mark Cuban, have publicly maintained a distance from Trump. Recently, over 450 employees from major tech companies, including Google, Meta, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and OpenAI, signed an open letter. This letter urged their CEOs to intervene and halt perceived excesses by ICE agents.
Khosla, a billionaire tech figure, directly addressed employees of Tesla, SpaceX, and X in a viral post on X. He suggested that if they disagreed with Musk's perceived ideology, they should seek employment elsewhere. Khosla specifically invited "all non-whites… and all decent whites" at Musk's companies to resign and send their LinkedIn profiles to Khosla Ventures.
This call to action came in response to Musk's comments about white people becoming a "rapidly diminishing minority." Khosla interpreted Musk's stance as advocating for a "WAGA ‘white America great again’ as a ‘racism is great and desirable’ paradigm."
Elon Musk responded to Khosla's remarks on X.
“@elonmusk doesn’t want MAGA, he wants WAGA ‘white America great again’ as a ‘racism is great and desirable’ paradigm.”
Vinod Khosla
Musk also retorted to Khosla's invitation.
“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
He reminded Khosla of his own family connections to India. Musk pointed out that his partner, Shivon, is of Indian heritage. He also noted that his eldest son with her is named in honor of the renowned Indian physicist Chandrasekhar.
Khosla's criticism of Musk is part of a broader pattern of his outspoken opposition to Donald Trump. For months, Khosla has used social media to critique Trump's leadership, values, and governance. In January 2026, he characterized the Trump administration's agenda as "The Undoing Project." He accused Trump of orchestrating a "rampant, multifarious attack on American values, norms, institutions, laws, and democracy."
This stance places Khosla in opposition to the dominant direction within the tech industry. A significant number of influential figures in tech, often referred to as "tech bros," have openly or implicitly supported the MAGA movement. Elon Musk is a central figure in this group. He has made substantial donations to Trump's campaign and is considered the president's most influential ally in Silicon Valley. Other prominent individuals associated with Trump's orbit include PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, investor David Sacks, and venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. These individuals have expressed support for Trump's policies, such as deregulation, tax cuts, and a less stringent regulatory approach to artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency.
Even executives who previously expressed skepticism towards Trump have largely shifted towards pragmatic engagement. Leaders from major tech companies like Meta (Mark Zuckerberg), Amazon (Jeff Bezos), Apple (Tim Cook), Google (Sundar Pichai), Microsoft (Satya Nadella), and IBM (Arvind Krishna) have attended Trump events. They have also increased their political donations and pledged significant investments in the United States. Tech industry lobbying efforts have reached record levels. The underlying calculation for these companies appears to be that gaining access, influence, and regulatory relief outweighs any ideological discomfort.
In contrast to this trend, open opposition to Trump from prominent tech figures has become rare. Aside from Vinod Khosla, only a few well-known individuals, such as LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and entrepreneur Mark Cuban, have publicly maintained a distance from Trump. Recently, over 450 employees from major tech companies, including Google, Meta, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and OpenAI, signed an open letter. This letter urged their CEOs to intervene and halt perceived excesses by ICE agents.