Vinod Khosla net worth: Billionaire venture capitalist clashes with Elon Musk over endorsing Donald Trump in 2024 election

In a surprising turn of events, renowned venture capitalist Vinod Khosla has found himself at odds with tech magnate Elon Musk over Donald Trump's endorsement in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.

On July 21, 2024, Biden announced that he would withdraw from his presidential re-election race and pushed Vice-President Kamala Harris to take his place for the Democratic Party ticket. Shortly after this announcement, Khosla took to X and suggested that Democrats must choose a moderate candidate who can beat former US president Donald Trump:

"Time to have an open convention and get a more moderate candidate who can easily beat @realDonaldTrump," Khosla tweeted.

Soon after, Tesla CEO Elon Musk swiftly responded to Khosla's endorsement in a tweet and expressed his disagreement on X (formerly Twitter).

As per The Guardian, Joe Biden made this decision after being called out to step aside by more than 30 Democratic members of Congress. He made the statement after weeks of pressure from the leaders.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Vinod Khosla, an Indian-American businessman, has a worth of $6 billion as of 2024.

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Elon Musk and Vinod Khosla at odds over Donald Trump's support

Vinod Khosla, the co-founder of Sun Microsystems and the founder of Khosla Ventures, has made his wealth from investing in early venture capital in businesses such as networking, software, and alternative energy technologies. He has emerged in a public clash with Elon Musk.

Soon after, Musk replied to Khosla's tweet on X; over the week, the New Delhi-born businessman suggested he would support a person with "no values." He further indicated that he would still not accept even if Trump cut his taxes.

"Hard for me to support someone with no values, lies, cheats, r*pes, demeans women, hates immigrants like me. He may cut my taxes or reduce some regulation but that is no reason to accept depravity in his personal values. Do you want President who will set back climate by a decade in his first year? Do you want his example for your kids as values?" Khosla tweeted.

Vinod Khosla replied to Elon Musk's disagreement on X (Image via X/@vkhosla)

Musk, who fully endorsed Donald Trump on X after the alleged attack on the former president on July 13, 2024, replied to Vinod Khosla on X, suggesting he should meet Trump once to clear his doubts. Musk further made a nuanced argument in favor of Donald Trump's leadership despite acknowledging his imperfections.

"I'm not suggesting that Trump is without flaws, however we need an administration that is more likely to be meritocratic and promote individual freedoms over the heavy hand of government. Many years ago, that was the Democratic Party, but now the pendulum has swung to the Republican Party," Musk replied on X.

Khosla did not hold back and replied on X, suggesting that he was a Republican Party supporter long ago. Still, numerous events, such as the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement and NATO, contributed to his shift from the party.

Vinod Khosla referenced MAGA, which reflects the time when Trump originated the slogan during his 2016 presidential campaign; his agenda for the campaign was to advocate policies that prioritize American workers and businesses, tax cuts, reduce federal regulations, and more.

However, during his tenure, his policies significantly polarized the American public, and his inflammatory language contributed to deep divisions along political, racial, and social lines, as per AP News.

In addition to Vinod Khosla's response, Musk replied, acknowledging that civilization does need oil and gases, but they should not be demonized. He further emphasized that the rapid growth of sustainable energy will inevitably surpass regardless of any actions taken by Donald Trump.

"Civilization does need oil & gas for quite some time. I don't think we should demonize an industry that is essential for humanity to function. However, as you know, sustainable energy production and consumption is growing very rapidly and is tracking to exceed use of hydrocarbon fuels. That will happen no matter what Trump does," Musk replied.

Elon Musk further shared a Wikipedia screenshot of the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect, a phenomenon, suggesting that a person trusts newspapers for topics or concerns about things that person is not knowledgeable about. Vinod Khosla did not respond further, nor did Musk tweet more.

The ongoing dialogue between Khosla and Musk seems to be at rest. However, the 2024 presidential race persists. The 2024 election in the United States will occur on November 5, 2024.