Bill Ackman and Elon Musk called DEI 'racist' but companies need it to succeed, experts say

• Billionaires and business leaders are arguing over whether DEI efforts should exist.
• Investor Bill Ackman and Elon Musk say diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are "racist." 
• Corporate DEI efforts might evolve, experts told BI, but they're not likely to go away.

It's the abbreviation that has some billionaire bigwigs pretty worked up — and it's not AI.

The talk about DEI — diversity, equity, and inclusion —  isn't about how to jumpstart efforts that once seemed almost universally lauded. It's about what's next for these programs following attacks on DEI by several high-wattage names in business.