Elon Musk has fired back at accusations of racism leveled by billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, pointing to his relationship with Shivon Zilis, a Neuralink executive of half-Indian descent, and revealing that one of their sons is named in honor of an Indian physicist.
The public clash erupted on social media platform X after Khosla accused Musk of promoting what he termed “WAGA” — “White America Great Again” — in contrast to the Trump-linked “MAGA” slogan, according to multiple outlets including Business Standard and TRT World.
The Exchange
The controversy stemmed from a September 2025 post by Musk stating that “white people are a rapidly diminishing minority of the global population.” The post referenced demographic data showing white people comprised 36 percent of the world’s population in 1900 compared to around 8 percent today.
Khosla responded sharply on January 27, 2026, accusing Musk of framing racism as a “great and desirable paradigm.” He urged employees at Tesla, SpaceX, and X to quit and join companies in his investment portfolio.
“.@elonmusk doesn’t want MAGA, he wants WAGA or ‘white America great again’ as a racism is great and desirable’ paradigm. All non-whites in @tesla, @SpaceX @X etc and all decent whites should quit and join our portfolio. Email us your linkedin!” Khosla wrote on X.
Musk’s Response
Musk rejected the accusations forcefully, calling Khosla “pompous” and highlighting his personal life as evidence against claims of racism.
“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,” Musk wrote.
The reference to the beach relates to Khosla’s long-running legal battle over public access to Martins Beach, a California property he owns, according to TRT World.
Who Is Shivon Zilis?
Shivon Alice Zilis is a 39-year-old Canadian technology executive and venture capitalist who serves as Director of Operations and Special Projects at Neuralink, Musk’s brain-computer interface company, according to Fox Business.
Born on February 8, 1986, in Markham, Ontario, Canada, Zilis is the biological daughter of Sharda, a Punjabi Indian mother, and Richard Zilis, a Canadian father. She was placed with adoptive parents as an infant and spent her childhood in Canada, according to AZAT TV.
During a December 2025 podcast conversation with Indian entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath, Musk discussed Zilis’ background, saying: “My partner Shivon, she’s half Indian. She was given up for adoption when she was a baby. She grew up in Canada,” according to AZAT TV.
In a previous interview with USA Today, Zilis herself touched on her heritage, saying she “pretty much turned out white — I just got the big eyes from the Punjabi side,” according to SheKnows.
The exchange between Musk and Khosla is not their first public disagreement. In September 2024, Musk mocked Khosla over his legal battle to restrict public access to Martins Beach, posting a doctored image of a sign reading “No Plebs Allowed” attributed to Khosla.
Educational and Professional Background
Zilis graduated from Markham’s Unionville High School before attending Yale University, where she earned degrees in economics and philosophy in 2008, according to Wikipedia. As a goaltender on Yale’s ice hockey team, she became the school’s all-time leader in goals-against average, according to the same source.
After graduating, Zilis began her career at IBM in New York, working in financial technologies in developing countries, particularly Peru and Indonesia, according to Wikipedia. From 2012 to 2018, she was a founding investor and partner at Bloomberg Beta, a venture capital fund backed by Bloomberg L.P.
In 2015, Forbes recognized Zilis in their “30 Under 30” venture capital list, according to Fox Business. She was also named to LinkedIn’s 35 Under 35 list, according to the same source.
Zilis became a board member at OpenAI in 2016, making her the organization’s youngest board member at the time, according to The Bridge Chronicle. She served on the board until her resignation in March 2023, according to Wikipedia. It was through her work at OpenAI, which Musk co-founded, that she first met the Tesla CEO, according to multiple sources including SheKnows and E! Online.
In 2017, Zilis joined Neuralink, taking on the role of director of operations and special projects, where she oversees initial development and strategic operations, according to The Bridge Chronicle. By September 2023, she had also joined the board of Shield AI, a defense technology company specializing in AI systems for aircraft, according to the same source.
Their Family
Musk and Zilis have four children together, all born via IVF and surrogacy, according to SheKnows. In November 2021, they welcomed twins named Strider and Azure, according to Fox Business. The twins’ full names are Strider Sekhar Sirius and Azure Astra Alice, according to E! Online.
Musk explained that Strider’s name was inspired by the nickname of Lord of the Rings character Aragorn and the late physicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, while Azure was named after a spell from the video game Elden Ring, according to E! Online.
The couple welcomed a daughter named Arcadia in February 2024, according to Fox Business and SheKnows. In February 2025, they announced the birth of their fourth child, a son named Seldon Lycurgus, according to Fox Business.
“Discussed with Elon and, in light of beautiful Arcadia’s birthday, we felt it was better to also just share directly about our wonderful and incredible son Seldon Lycurgus,” Zilis wrote on X. “Built like a juggernaut, with a solid heart of gold. Love him so much,” according to Fox Business.
One of the sons carries the middle name “Sekhar” in honor of Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, the Indian-American astrophysicist and Nobel Prize winner.
Zilis on Musk
Despite acknowledging that Musk has his issues, Zilis has publicly defended him. In May 2020, she tweeted: “No one’s perfect but I’ve never met anyone who goes through more personal pain to fight for an inspiring future for humanity— and has done so tirelessly for decades. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion but mine is that there’s no one I respect and admire more,” according to E! Online.
Zilis told Musk biographer Walter Isaacson: “I learned more unique lessons from Elon per minute than any other human I’ve met. It would be dumb to not spend some of your life with such a person,” according to E! Online.
She also told Isaacson about Musk’s pronatalist views: “He really wants smart people to have kids, so he encouraged me to,” according to the same source.
The Broader Context
The exchange between Musk and Khosla is not their first public disagreement. In September 2024, Musk mocked Khosla over his legal battle to restrict public access to Martins Beach, posting a doctored image of a sign reading “No Plebs Allowed” attributed to Khosla. Khosla demanded an apology and clarified court rulings supported his private property claims, while Musk sarcastically “apologized,” escalating their feud, according to the same source.
In May 2025, Khosla warned that harsh immigration policies could scare away qualified immigrants needed for the U.S. AI race with China, according to TRT World.
Following Musk’s defense citing his partner’s heritage, Khosla continued the criticism, writing: “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,” according to The Federal.
The relationship status between Musk and Zilis remains unclear. According to SheKnows, “We have literally no idea what it is,” though they share four children and work together professionally.
The clash comes amid broader political rhetoric over immigration enforcement in the United States, according to TRT World.
This story was aggregated by AI from several news reports and edited by American Kahani’s News Desk.
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