Elon Musk offers to sell more Tesla stock after quarrel with Bernie Sanders
In this March 14, 2019, file photo, Tesla CEO Elon Musk reacts during the unveiling of the new Tesla Model Y in Hawthorne, Calif. AFP-Yonhap
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk got into a spat with Bernie Sanders on Sunday after the U.S. senator demanded the wealthy pay their "fair share" of taxes.
"We must demand that the extremely wealthy pay their fair share. Period," Sanders wrote on Twitter. Taking a jibe at the 80-year-old senator, Musk responded by saying "I keep forgetting that you're still alive."
The billionaire CEO who had already offloaded a combined $6.9 billion worth of shares in the electric car company as of Nov. 12, further wrote, "Want me to sell more stock, Bernie? Just say the word."
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders / AFP-Yonhap
Sanders' tweet comes amid the backdrop of Washington's efforts to hike taxes for the super-wealthy.
U.S. Senate Democrats have unveiled a proposal to tax billionaires' stocks and other tradeable assets to help finance President Joe Biden's social spending agenda and close a loophole that has allowed them to defer capital gains taxes indefinitely.
A week ago, Musk tweeted that he would sell 10 percent of his shares if users of the social media platform endorsed the move. About 57.9 percent of people voted for the stock sale. (Reuters)