Billionaire Battle Among America’s Richest: Musk and Khosla Clash Over Public Access to Martins Beach

Vinod Khosla, the billionaire co-founder of Sun Microsystems, has found himself in the crosshairs of Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, in a longstanding dispute over public access to Martins Beach on the San Mateo County coast. The picturesque beach, located seven miles south of Half Moon Bay, has been at the center of a legal battle for over a decade, with Khosla arguing for private property rights and critics demanding public access.

The latest controversy began when Musk took to his social media platform, “X,” to criticize Khosla’s actions. Musk shared a digitally altered image of a sign allegedly posted by Khosla that read, “No plebs allowed. Property of Vinod Khosla.” He followed up with posts accusing Khosla of hypocrisy, pointing out that while Khosla advocated for sending unvetted migrants to small towns in the U.S., he was restricting access to a public beach. Musk sarcastically suggested throwing a BBQ party on the beach, implying it belonged to the public.

The legal battle over Martins Beach gained momentum last week when a San Mateo County Superior Court judge denied Khosla’s request to dismiss a lawsuit brought against him by the California Coastal Commission and the State Lands Commission. The lawsuit, filed in 2020, aims to force Khosla to restore full public access to the beach. The case is now headed to trial in April.

In response to Musk’s comments, Khosla defended his stance, accusing Musk of following in the footsteps of Donald Trump by spreading misinformation. He clarified that the dispute wasn’t about the public beach itself but the private road that leads to it. Khosla also referred to officials at the Coastal Commission as “commies” and urged Musk to check his facts before posting.

The spat soon escalated into a heated exchange about immigration, with Musk responding angrily to Khosla’s deflection, accusing him of being unreasonable about beach access. Their back-and-forth quickly veered off-topic, touching on national politics and immigration policies.

Khosla’s attempts to block public access to Martins Beach date back to 2008, when he purchased 88 acres of coastal land surrounding the beach for $32.5 million. In 2010, he closed the only road leading to the beach, installed “no trespassing” signs, and hired security to enforce the closure. The move was met with protests from surfers, environmentalists, and local residents who had used the beach for generations.

Under California’s Coastal Act, which protects public access to beaches, the shoreline itself is public, but Khosla argued that the road leading to the beach was private. After years of legal wrangling, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Khosla’s appeal in 2018, effectively upholding lower court rulings that he could not block access without a permit.

Although Khosla has since allowed limited access to the beach, charging a $10 parking fee, the fight continues. The Coastal Commission and State Lands Commission filed a new lawsuit in 2020, presenting evidence from more than 200 families dating back to the 1920s, demonstrating that the road had been used by the public for generations, often without payment.

If Khosla loses the current case, it will become nearly impossible for him to obtain a permit to restrict access in the future, and the state may impose hefty fines. However, if he prevails, he could bolster his case for keeping the gate closed, claiming that there was never any legal right to public access in the first place.

With a net worth of $7.3 billion, Khosla’s fight for Martins Beach represents a larger debate about public access to California’s coastlines. Musk, with a fortune of $257 billion, draws even more attention to the dispute.

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