![Sen. Elizabeth Warren chastises Elon Musk over his taxes [Twitter Screenshot Breaking 911]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Screen-Shot-2022-02-21-at-11.48.58-AM-e1645462214263.png "Sen. Elizabeth Warren chastises Elon Musk over his taxes [Twitter Screenshot Breaking 911]")
Tesla CEO Elon Musk snapped back Sunday at Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren after she claimed Musk paid “zero” taxes in 2018.
While speaking on CNN’s “New Day” Wednesday, Warren took aim at Musk’s financial past, claiming billionaires need to start paying taxes.
“Elon Musk, 2018, we’ve actually seen his tax returns,” Warren said. “You know how much he paid in taxes, one of the richest people in the world? Zero. And he’s not the only one. Jeff Bezos … he pays less in taxes than a public school teacher or a fighter.”
SEN. WARREN: “You know how much [Elon Musk] paid in taxes, one of the richest people in the world? Zero! And he’s not the only one. Jeff Bezos, another one of the richest people in the world, he pays less in taxes than a public school teacher or a firefighter.” pic.twitter.com/8glWry5lWz
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) February 20, 2022
Warren said billionaires use loopholes to avoid paying taxes.
Musk fired back on Twitter, promising to visit the IRS next time he’s in Washington, D.C., “just to say hi, since I paid the most taxes ever in history for an individual last year.”
“Maybe I can have a cookie or something,” he added. (RELATED: Joy Reid Accuses Elon Musk Of Stealing ‘Karen’ Insult From ‘Black Vernacular,’ But Musk Fires Back)
Will visit IRS next time I’m in DC just to say hi, since I paid the most taxes ever in history for an individual last year. Maybe I can have a cookie or something …
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 20, 2022
Musk did not pay federal income taxes in 2018, according to ProPublica. Musk reportedly had a “true tax rate” of 3.27% between 2014 and 2018.
Musk has previously explained how he pays little to no income tax, reportedly taking out loans against his company’s stock and not owing income taxes for it, according to The Hill. When Musk exercises those options, he will have to pay taxes, according to the report. Musk also once said that he does pay income taxes in California, calling the figure “significant,” according to The Hill.
Musk sold off $14 billion in Tesla stock since early November 2021, with the stock options Musk was awarded in 2012 scheduled to expire in August, according to CNBC. He also donated more than five million shares to charity in November, according to Reuters.
Musk did tweet in December that “for those wondering, I will pay over $11 billion in taxes this year.”