On November 14, Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk and US Senator Bernie Sanders – a duo that has sparred previously too, have yet again got into a spat on Twitter after Sanders demanded that the wealthy pay their “fair share” of taxes.
He wrote on Twitter “We must demand that the extremely wealthy pay their fair share.”
To this, Musk responded by taking a dig at the 80-year-old senator and said “I keep forgetting you’re still alive.”
The Jenator had previously made remarks on Musk saying that he should “focus on Earth” instead of using his wealth to travel to different planets.
As of November 12, Musk had already offloaded shares worth a combined $6.9 billion in the electric car company. Taking a jibe at Sanders, Musk tweeted, “Want me to sell more stock, Bernie? Just say the word.”
In order to finance President Biden’s social spending agenda and to close a loophole which allows these super-rich individuals to defer capital gains taxes, Senate Democrats have proposed taxing billionaires’ stocks and other tradeable assets.
A week ago, Musk took to Twitter and said that he would sell 10 per cent of his shares if social media users endorsed the move and would abide by the results of the poll whichever way it goes. 57.9 per cent of people voted in support of the stock. Staying true to his promise, he sold 930,000 shares of his company stock, which amounted to over $1.1 billion.
Following this Musk once again sold 1.2 million shares held by his trust for over $1.2 billion on November 12.
