Shweta Jena, Pune
An argument surged between Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk and Indian-American venture capitalist Vinod Khosla on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). This has taken place amidst the heat of the US presidential elections ahead and the withdrawal of Joe Biden’s candidature from the presidential race. As Biden validated Kamala Harris, the current Vice President and new nominee for the Democratic party, Vinod Khosla posted on X for an “open convention” to select a moderate candidate against Donald Trump
In his post, Khosla said, “Time to have an open convention and get a more moderate candidate who can easily beat @realDonaldTrump.” He added that this would be a great opportunity and that those who are socially liberal, who are fiscal voters and who vote as per climate change policies as well, should agree to the same in order to create a balance.
In a reply to this post, Elon Musk insisted that Khosla support former president Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, in the presidential race. Questioning Musk’s stance, Khosla replied that it would be hard for him to aid someone with “no values”, and who “lies, cheats, rapes and demeans women, and hates immigrants like him.”
He added that though Trump would be likely to reduce taxes or ease regulations, it is not enough for him to support and accept a candidate with a lack of personal values
He further suggested that Trump May ‘set back climate’ within the first year itself and questioned whether Musk would want him as a role model for children.
Musk responded by acknowledging Trump’s flaws, saying that he does not hate Khosla and suggesting that the latter meet him to find out. This heated conversation continued with Khosla criticising Trump’s “drill baby drill” concept and views on climate, painting him as an unsuitable candidate for presidential elections.
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Elon Musk plans to contribute $45 million per month to support Trump’s presidential campaign. Meanwhile, the three Indian-American lawmakers from the House of Representatives — Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna and Shri Thanedar — have already nominated Harris as a suitable candidate against Trump.