SpaceX and Tesla chief Elon Musk engaged in a Twitter spat with US Senator Elizabeth Warren over tax payment. It started on December 13 when Warren attacked Musk, who has recently been named the "Person of the Year" by Time magazine, saying, "Let’s change the rigged tax code so The Person of the Year will actually pay taxes and stop freeloading off everyone else."

Share Market Live

NSE

Let’s change the rigged tax code so The Person of the Year will actually pay taxes and stop freeloading off everyone else. https://t.co/jqQxL9Run6

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) December 13, 2021

Along with posting the news article, Musk wrote, "You remind me of when I was a kid and my friend’s angry mom would just randomly yell at everyone for no reason."

In another tweet, Musk took a swipe on Warren saying, "Please don't call the manager on me, Senator Karen." In the United States, the word "Karen" is used as slang to refer to a middle-aged white woman who is angry and entitled.

Please don’t call the manager on me, Senator Karen

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 14, 2021

The spat comes in the wake of an ongoing debate over wealth tax in the United States. Senator Warren has been a vocal supporter of an annual tax targeting billionaires.

A 2019 survey by think tank Cato Institute had revealed that 82 percent of Americans—including 73 percent of Democrat voters—believe that it should be possible to become a billionaire and that the idea of forcing billionaires to pay a very hefty tax is at odds with the American Dream.

Musk has recently been on a spate of share sales, selling a total of 11.9 million shares, according to InsiderScore. The share sales have been spread over a total of 680 sales. The total proceeds from the sale amount to about $12.7 billion. Musk sold most of his shares in order to have enough proceeds to pay the taxes on his stock options that expire in 2022.

Also Read | A tale of two markets: Promoters in US selling furiously; Indian peers on buying spree

(Edited by : Yashi Gupta)

First Published:Dec 15, 2021 2:23 PM IST