Elon Musk slammed Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on Twitter Sunday after he called for wealthy people to “pay their fair share” in taxes.
“We must demand that the extremely wealthy pay their fair share. Period,” Sanders tweeted Saturday. “I keep forgetting that you’re still alive,” wrote Musk in response.
I keep forgetting that you’re still alive
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 14, 2021
Musk followed up with additional tweets in which he both antagonized and ridiculed Sanders. His first tweet sarcastically asked Bernie if he should sell more of his stock. His second tweet mocked Sanders for being “a taker, not a maker.”
Want me to sell more stock, Bernie? Just say the word …
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 14, 2021
Bernie is a taker, not a maker
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 15, 2021
It was not the first time the two had a tense Twitter exchange, Fox News reported. In March, Sanders targeted Musk’s wealth by criticizing his travels to space and stated that he should instead “focus on Earth” and help calculate a “progressive tax system,” according to Fox News. (RELATED: Elon Musk, Tesla Board Sued Over Musk’s ‘Erratic’ Tweets)
“We are in a moment in American history where two guys — Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos — own more wealth than the bottom 40% of people in this country. That level of greed and inequality is not only immoral. It is unsustainable,” Sanders tweeted on March 18.
Musk responded a few days later by declaring how his projects are for the betterment of humanity in the present and future. “I am accumulating resources to help make life multiplanetary & extend the light of consciousness to the stars,” Musk said on Twitter on March 21.
“Space travel is an exciting idea, but right now we need to focus on Earth and create a progressive tax system so that children don’t go hungry, people are not homeless and all Americans have healthcare. The level of inequality in America is obscene and a threat to our democracy,” Sanders responded, according to Fox News.