Musk rebuts Sen. Sanders' wealth criticism: "stock, not cash"
Sen. Bernie Sanders blasted Musk's roughly $908 billion net worth (per Forbes) as 'wealth inequality,' and Musk hit back on X that his fortune is 'stock in SpaceX and Tesla, not some big pile of cash,' with all shareholders — including pension funds — benefiting as share prices rise. The exchange lands amid an ongoing fight over Tesla's trillion-dollar CEO pay package.
Musk's personal fortune is once again a political flashpoint, layered on top of the still-unresolved fight over his roughly $1 trillion Tesla pay package.
Sen. Bernie Sanders posted on X: 'Another $900 billion for Elon Musk, while 60% live paycheck to paycheck? Really? This is not only grossly immoral. It is insane economics,' continuing his broader push for a billionaire tax.
Musk responded directly on his own X account: 'I have stock in SpaceX and Tesla, not some big pile of cash. As my companies do more and more useful things, their value increases proportionate to their projected usefulness. All shareholders benefit along the way, including most retirement programs.'
Forbes currently pegs Musk's net worth at about $908 billion, down from a June peak of roughly $1.1 trillion that briefly made him the world's first trillionaire. Because that figure moves with Tesla and SpaceX's share prices, the latest spat mostly reheats an old argument over whether stock-based wealth should be judged the same way as cash.
Sanders previously called Tesla's trillion-dollar pay package for Musk 'insanity' while pushing billionaire-tax legislation — this week's exchange is a continuation of that same fight.
Summaries are prepared by the Tesla Briefing editorial team and may not capture every nuance of the original reporting. You are solely responsible for your own investment decisions.