Vinod Khosla Congratulates Elon Musk on Trump’s Victory Despite Their Online Sparring
- The two have been engaged in a battle on social media about the 2024 elections as well as the Indian American venture capitalist billionaire’s ongoing public-land battle in California.
Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vinod Khosla is hoping that Elon Musk can get president-elect Donald Trump “to do some of the things he said he’d do and not do some of the things he promised to do.”The Indian American billionaire took to X to congratulate Musk on Trump’s win. Musk has gone from surrogate for the Trump campaign to an expected cabinet pick.
The Joe Biden and Kamala Harris backer continued: “For eg if we can focus in FDA on better regulation instead of RFK kooky science it would be good. Attention to climate which you subscribe to would be good. Under the MAGA banner, I hope we don’t abandon our allies and Ukraine. More to come….”
As Fortune magazine pointed out, “Khosla’s first point is in response to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is expected to be a part of Trump’s administration, too, perhaps in the world of regulating new drugs and medical devices at the Food and Drug Administration. RFK Jr. and Trump have recited the tagline “Make America healthy again,” numerous times, including in his early victory speech.”
But Khosla’s post surprised many on social media as it followed a heated exchange between the two on X. The argument stemmed from Khosla’s criticism of Argentinian president Javier Milei’s policies, much to the dismay of Musk, a strong supporter of his libertarian approach. He responded bluntly, calling Khosla “dumb” for what he probably deemed a misleading post.
Khosla also linked Milei’s austerity program to economic downturns and likened it to former Trump’s policies. “Argentina’s unemployment rate soars to 52% under Mileis dictatorial austerity program,” he wrote. “The same will happen under @realDonaldTrump as he slashes spending. His tariffs will simultaneously increase inflation.” Khosla wrote, sharing a Financial Times article about Argentina’s worsening poverty rate.”
In an interview last month with TechCrunch Disrupt 2024, Khosla noted that “our democracy is definitely on the line. He also criticized Trump supporters— including Musk. “I can’t believe [Musk is] supporting somebody with such depraved values as Trump,” Khosla told the crowd at the conference. “I can’t imagine anyone who values ‘values’ voting for Trump,” he continued. “He’s so depraved, it’s unimaginable to me. But obviously, Trump is tapping into a vein of discontent that’s very real.” He also held Musk, in particular, accountable for helping spread this type of misinformation on X.
However, the election is not the only issue the two have been at loggerheads. The two have been battling online on Khosla’s ongoing public land battle in California. Khosla, who bought a piece of land in 2008 that previously served as a paid parking lot for Martins Beach south of San Francisco, has said he no longer wants the privately owned property to be publicly accessible. Since then he has been fighting with the state over the issue, including a rejected appeal to the Supreme Court in 2018.
In September, Musk “No plebs allowed. Property of Vinod Khosla” a reference to a 16-year-long legal battle Khosla has undertaken to restrict the use of his private property to access the public Martins Beach. Then Khosla responded to Musk, demanding an apology from him “You owe me an apology for spreading falsehoods,” he wrote. “I think this post of yours needs a community comment for being a fraudulent photo. I have never put up this sign or anything even remotely like this. I presume it is AI-generated but you can verify that.”
Despite Khosla’s congratulatory post, it would be safe to speculate that the online sparring between him and Musk won’t end any time soon.