Indian-American venture capitalist Vinod Khosla fired back at Tesla CEO Elon Musk after Musk criticized him for restricting public access to a beach near his home, calling beachgoers "plebs." This marked the latest round of their public spat, which unfolded on Sunday.
In a post on X, Khosla responded, "Keeping up with your new mentor @realDonaldTrump in tweeting fictional photographs or atleast not one I have ever seen. There has NEVER been a dispute on access to the beach (which is public ), just accessing it thru private property. Every court ruling and appeal of the Friends of Martin's Beach lawsuit we have won that reasserted acess thru private property is not legal. Separately the commies at California Coastal Commission want us to apply for a permit to close an old paid parking business and yet they have not permitted us to apply for this closure. Get details before you tweet nonsense."
Earlier, Elon Musk took to X, saying, "Wow, so crazy that @vkhosla put this sign on a public beach," sharing an image of a sign that read, "no plebs allowed."
Never one to avoid controversy, Musk sarcastically remarked that he’d host a barbecue party on the same beach Khosla is accused of closing off to the public.
Musk's post sparked an online debate, with many users questioning the legality of restricting public access to the beach.
Musk went on to accuse Khosla of hypocrisy, stating, “Vinod wants to send thousands of unvetted migrants to small towns in America but won’t even let the public walk on his beach.” He added, “I’m throwing a party on Vinod’s beach! For cuisine, I’m thinking BBQ (barbecue).”
Back in July, Musk and Khosla had clashed over Donald Trump’s candidacy for the U.S. presidency. In a post on X, Khosla wrote, "Hard for me to support someone with no values, lies, cheats, rapes, 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?"
In response, Musk said Trump "doesn’t hate you. In fact, I think he likes you. Meet him and find out for yourself." While acknowledging Trump's flaws, Musk argued for an administration more focused on meritocracy and individual freedoms rather than heavy-handed government control.
"How many times have you read something in the media where you know the real story, but what they printed was diabolically false? Well, it’s way worse in politics, which is a blood sport...Many years ago, that was the Democratic Party, but now, the pendulum has swung to the Republican Party,” Musk remarked. In his response, Khosla agreed, expressing distrust in the media as well as support for promoting meritocracy and individual freedoms.
Musk continued his backing of the former U.S. president by stating that civilization still needs oil and gas for some time. “I don’t think we should demonise 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 the use of hydrocarbon fuels. That will happen no matter what Trump does,” Musk emphasized.
Regarding NATO, he pointed out that the U.S. contributes far more than other allies, questioning, “Why are American taxpayers paying for the defence of Europe when Europe is fully capable of doing so itself?
