Famous Indian American billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla is calling on workers and employees of Tesla, SpaceX and other big companies led by Elon Musk to consider quitting their jobs and working for the firms they back. The call-out is specifically targeted at “non-white” and “gentlemanly white” employees, with Khosla suggesting they may not want to work for Elon Musk after he accused the Tesla and SpaceX CEO of allegedly promoting racist and divisive views.

In a recent post on Khosla described Musk’s statement as inflammatory and racist. Khosla alleged that Musk was pushing an ideology focused on race rather than merit. “@elonmusk doesn’t want MAGA, he wants WAGA or ‘White America Great Again’ because ‘racism is great and desirable’ paradigm,” Khosla wrote. He urged “all non-whites and all decent whites at @tesla, @SpaceX, @X etc” to resign from companies run by Musk and “join our portfolio”, even inviting them to email their LinkedIn profiles.

While Khosla referenced an older post by Musk, the Tesla CEO’s comments on immigration have also been in focus recently. Earlier this month, Musk came under criticism after endorsing a post that claimed white people could face an existential threat if they became a minority. Musk responded with a “100” emoji, which was widely interpreted as an endorsement of the argument.

In fact, immigration has become a recurring theme in Musk’s online commentary recently. He has repeatedly highlighted his stance that mass migration could destabilize society. Musk has defended his position by calling it a concern for public safety, economic stress and social cohesion rather than race.

And it’s not just in the United States. Musk’s views on immigration have also sparked controversy internationally. Politicians in the UK condemned him after he addressed an anti-immigration rally on video, telling protesters that “violence is coming” and urging them to “fight back or die”. Prime Minister Keir Starmer also described Musk’s language as “dangerous and inflammatory”, although the government declined to ban Musk.

In another example, in Japan, Musk expressed support for anti-immigration protests linked to the rise of the nationalist “Japan First” party. Responding to footage of protesters demanding the deportation of illegal immigrants, Musk commented positively, once again drawing criticism for promoting nationalist rhetoric abroad.

However, responding to allegations of racism, Musk has made it clear that he opposes discrimination against any group. He has argued that he is “equally opposed” to laws targeting people on the basis of race, whether anti-black or anti-white, and emphasizes that he supports equal treatment under the law. Musk wrote in one of his posts, “I am extremely opposed to anti-black laws, but I am equally opposed to laws against white people or other races. There should be a fair and equal playing field.”

Meanwhile, coming back to Khosla’s comments, while some have supported his comments, saying they highlight Musk’s influence on public discussion, others have strongly objected. X users argue that Khosla’s own comments also seem racially charged and that asking employees to step down risks deepening racial polarization.