From OpenAI to ‘WAGA’: Why tech billionaires Elon Musk and Vinod Khosla have been feuding since 2024

Elon Musk and Vinod Khosla’s feud, spanning social media, courtrooms, and AI debates, escalated over race and identity after Musk’s demographic comments. Their rivalry also involves clashes over AI philosophy, politics, and personal grievances dating back years.

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The latest clash between Elon Musk and Indian-American billionaire investor Vinod Khosla over race and identity is not an isolated blow-up. It is the most recent chapter in a long-running and increasingly personal feud that has unfolded across social media, courtrooms, and ideological battlegrounds since 2024.

At the surface, the current dispute was triggered by Musk’s comment on demographic trends. “White people are a rapidly diminishing minority of the global population,” Musk wrote on X. Khosla responded sharply, accusing Musk of pushing a racially exclusionary worldview.

“Musk doesn’t want Make America Great Again (MAGA) but White America Great Again (WAGA) in the US,” Khosla said, later adding that Musk’s comment suggested that “racism is great and desirable paradigm.”

Khosla escalated further, writing, “All non-whites in Tesla and SpaceX and all decent whites should quit and join our portfolio. Email us your LinkedIn!”

Musk hit back by reviving an old grievance, accusing Khosla of trying to block public access to Martins Beach near his California home. “Vinod, you’re not just such a pompous ***hole that you tried to stop the public from using a public beach near your house, you’ve also gone full retard,” Musk wrote. He also rejected the racism charge, invoking his family, saying, “My partner, Shivon, is half Indian and my eldest son with her is named in honor of the great Indian physicist Chandrasekhar.”

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

Khosla responded again, urging restraint. “Instead of bringing your family into it, maybe try not tweeting ‘seemingly’ racist stuff next time?” he wrote, adding that many would appreciate Musk clearly stating he is not advocating “WAGA”.

Instead of bringing your family into it, maybe try not tweeting “SEEMINGLY” racist stuff next time? Many would appreciate it if you acknowledge you are not trying to establish a white society in America, and are not WAGA, and racism isn’t behind your many laments around white… https://t.co/0beAe5tDUN — Vinod Khosla (@vkhosla) January 28, 2026

The real origin point: OpenAI and control of AI’s future

While race and politics dominate the latest exchange, the deeper roots of the Musk-Khosla rivalry lie in artificial intelligence.

Musk co-founded OpenAI but left before it became the world’s most influential AI company. Khosla, meanwhile, emerged as one of OpenAI’s most prominent backers and defenders.

When Musk sued OpenAI in March 2024, accusing it of betraying its original non-profit mission and aligning too closely with corporate interests, Khosla publicly dismissed the lawsuit as “sour grapes.” Musk, in turn, questioned Khosla’s technical understanding of AI and governance.

Their disagreement reflected a fundamental ideological split. Khosla has consistently argued for regulation, controlled deployment, and institutional oversight of AI. Musk has pushed open-source models and warned that concentrated AI power in the hands of a few companies poses an existential risk.

This conflict over AI philosophy quickly became personal, with both men framing the other as reckless, hypocritical, or self-interested.

Politics and Trump widened the rift

The feud deepened during the 2024 US presidential election. Musk openly supported Donald Trump and urged Khosla to do the same. Khosla refused.

“It’s hard for me to support someone with no values, lies, cheats, rapes, demeans women, hates immigrants like me,” Khosla said at the time.

Musk, who increasingly aligned himself with conservative politics and the MAGA movement, saw such criticism as moral posturing. Khosla, in turn, accused Musk of hypocrisy, especially given government subsidies received by Tesla and SpaceX.

Old grudges never died

Even before AI and politics, personal animosity existed. Musk has repeatedly mocked Khosla over his legal battles to restrict access to Martins Beach, once circulating a doctored image reading “No Plebs Allowed.”

Khosla demanded an apology. Musk never gave one.

Why this feud keeps escalating

At its core, the Musk-Khosla conflict is a collision of egos, ideologies, and power. It spans AI control, political identity, race, free speech, wealth, and public morality. Both men see themselves as moral actors shaping the future, and both react fiercely when that self-image is challenged.

The latest exchange may fade, but the structural reasons for hostility remain. As long as Musk continues to attack OpenAI and Khosla continues to defend it, and as long as politics and identity dominate public discourse, this rivalry is unlikely to cool down anytime soon.