Nik Pash, the AI head of Cline, is refusing to apologize after his 'imagine the smell' comment sparked a storm online. The remark was made under a crowded hackathon photo from xAi. Many saw it as a racist jab at Indians, as the comment echoed common anti-India stereotypes. Pash explained the joke was about how hackathons often smell bad. He said, "I’ve been to 4 this year, they all smelled bad." However, the comment drew harsh criticism and even death threats. Pash tagged Elon Musk, saying X isn’t the space for jokes and fun as he hoped. Indian-origin techie Deedy Das added fuel to the fire by criticizing Pash. Meanwhile, Pash demanded an apology from Das and others instead of attacks. "I do expect an apology from people like @deedydas," Pash said. Cline’s CEO Saoud Rizwan, who is of South Asian descent, defended Pash. He wrote, "Cline was started at a hackathon which in fact was quite smelly. This tweet was taken the wrong way." But social media users demanded an apology and threatened to boycott Cline. Deedy Das later apologized to Pash but noted, "Every time I've seen 'imagine the smell,' it's an attack on Indians." The incident highlights rising tensions around race and jokes on social media platforms.