Elon Musk and Vinod Khosla Spar Over Trump's Presidential Bid

Tech billionaire Elon Musk and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla clashed online regarding Donald Trump's third presidential bid. Khosla criticized Trump’s values, while Musk defended the need for a meritocratic administration. Musk also discussed the necessity of oil and gas industries and questioned American financial contributions to NATO.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk and Indian-American venture capitalist Vinod Khosla were engaged in a heated exchange on Monday over Donald Trump's bid for a third term as US president.

Trump, 78, accepted his Republican Party's nomination on Thursday night. In contrast, President Joe Biden, 81, withdrew from the race on Sunday, citing pressure from Democrats after a poor debate performance against Trump. Biden has endorsed Kamala Harris as the new Democratic nominee.

In a post on X, Khosla expressed difficulty in supporting Trump, citing his values and treatment of women and immigrants. Musk responded, suggesting that Trump might not be as opposed to Khosla as he believes and called for a meritocratic administration promoting individual freedoms. Musk also discussed the misrepresentation in media and politics.

Khosla agreed with Musk on media mistrust and meritocracy but criticized Trump's stance on climate issues and NATO. Musk defended the need for oil and gas industries and questioned the disproportionate American contributions to NATO's defense budget.

(With inputs from agencies.)