Tesla chief executive Elon Musk cracked a sex joke in response to a tweet from Democratic Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden calling for a tax on billionaires.
Musk issued a Twitter poll Saturday in response to a proposed tax on billionaires’ unrealized gains, asking his audience whether he should sell 10% of his Tesla stock and promising to abide by the results of the poll. Wyden, the chief proponent of the tax plan, quote-tweeted Musk and expressed his disapproval of the executive’s behavior.
Much is made lately of unrealized gains being a means of tax avoidance, so I propose selling 10% of my Tesla stock.
Do you support this?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 6, 2021
“Whether or not the world’s wealthiest man pays any taxes at all shouldn’t depend on the results of a Twitter poll,” Wyden wrote. “It’s time for the Billionaires Income Tax.”
In response, Musk tweeted a crude sex joke Sunday mocking the senator for his Twitter profile picture.
Why does ur pp look like u just came?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 7, 2021
“Why does ur pp look like u just came?” Musk asked Wyden, to which the senator did not reply.
The share price of Tesla dropped Monday morning following the exchange and Musk’s announcement that he would sell part of his stake in the electric car company.
“Note, I do not take a cash salary or bonus from anywhere. I only have stock, thus the only way for me to pay taxes personally is to sell stock,” Musk tweeted Saturday.
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