Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk pushed back at Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on Saturday after the socialist Senator tweeted that the extremely wealthy needed to “pay their fair share” of taxes.
“We must demand that the extremely wealthy pay their fair share. Period,” Sanders tweeted.
Musk replied to the 80-year-old Senator’s tweet, writing “I keep forgetting that you’re still alive.” Musk further pressed Sanders, telling him and that if he wants him to sell more stock, to “just say the word.”
Musk, who is worth more than $270 billion, is the wealthiest person in the world, surpassing Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Musk’s Tesla is valued at more than $1 trillion.
Musk replied to another user’s comment, referring to Sanders as a “taker, not a maker.”
Sanders, a self-described “democratic socialist,” has advocated for progressive taxes and wealth redistribution among the rich. However, Sanders has been accused of hypocrisy over owning three homes and garnering a net worth of more than $3 million.
In March, Sanders tweeted that Elon Musk, along with Jeff Bezos, are “immoral” for owning more wealth than the entire bottom 40 percent of Americans in the country.
“We are in a moment in American history where two guys — Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos — own more wealth than the bottom 40 percent of people in this country. That level of greed and inequality is not only immoral. It is unsustainable,” Sanders said.
Musk responded saying that he was “accumulating resources to help make life multi-planetary and extend the light of consciousness to the stars,” pointing to his upcoming innovations at SpaceX.