Renowned investor Vinod Khosla, founder and partner at Khosla Ventures, took a surprising detour from discussing the future of AI at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 to issue a stern warning about the upcoming US election and its implications for democracy.

Khosla minced no words, stating that "our democracy is definitely on the line" and expressing disbelief that anyone, including Elon Musk, could support Donald Trump, whom he described as having "depraved values." He criticized Musk for spreading misinformation on social media, citing examples such as the false claim that immigrants were eating people's pets.

The investor also lamented the lack of a shared set of facts in the country, pointing to the recent misinformation about FEMA and Trump's claims of a "stolen" election. Khosla emphasized that this erosion of trust in facts is a significant threat to democracy.

Despite his strong words, Khosla downplayed the potential impact of the election on the tech industry, suggesting that policies may not differ significantly between the right and left. However, he acknowledged that the outcome would have significant implications for the broader population, particularly the bottom 50% of the country.

Khosla's comments sparked a mix of surprise, laughter, and applause from the audience of entrepreneurs, highlighting the growing concern about the intersection of politics and technology in the startup community.