Elon Musk blasted Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) for arguing that he freeloads off others by benefiting from a “rigged” tax system.
Invoking Musk’s recent designation as Time Magazine’s Person of the Year, Warren suggested on Twitter that the “rigged tax code” ought to be changed so that the multibillionaire will “stop freeloading off everyone else.”
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
Musk, however, leads Tesla, SpaceX, and several smaller technology ventures. At the end of 2020, Tesla boasted a workforce of nearly 71,000 people; as of March 2021, SpaceX had nearly 10,000.
Musk responded to the progressive lawmaker — “Stop projecting!” — and linked to a Fox News opinion piece entitled “Elizabeth Warren is a fraud — Her lies about being Native American disqualify her from presidency, Senate.”
Stop projecting! https://t.co/Kibp6aS9vL
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 14, 2021
“Because of her long history of lying about her racial background, the Massachusetts Democrat is unfit to occupy the White House and unfit to sit in the Senate,” the article argues. “She should end her presidential candidacy before it begins and resign her Senate seat.”
“There is only one reason a person would fraudulently make a claim to be from a racial or ethnic group not his or her own: to benefit from affirmative action or other preferential programs created for underrepresented groups that have been victims of past discrimination,” it continues. “Native Americans, African-Americans and Hispanics are such groups.”
Then, Musk delivered two knockout blows.
“You remind me of when I was a kid and my friend’s angry Mom would just randomly yell at everyone for no reason,” he tweeted. “Please don’t call the manager on me, Senator Karen.”
You remind me of when I was a kid and my friend’s angry Mom would just randomly yell at everyone for no reason
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 14, 2021
Please don’t call the manager on me, Senator Karen 🙏
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 14, 2021
Warren’s tweet follows Musk’s harsh criticism of the Biden administration’s “Build Back Better Act.” The $1.75 trillion legislation — which the House of Representatives has already approved — would expand various social programs, including universal preschool, childcare subsidies, and climate change initiatives.
“I would say can this bill, don’t pass it. That’s my recommendation,” argued Musk during The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit. “If this bill happens or doesn’t happen, we don’t think about it at all really. Honestly it might be better if the bill doesn’t pass.”
Musk continued his remarks by sharing an analysis from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School explaining that the national debt would increase by over 24% if the bill’s provisions are made permanent. “There is a lot of accounting trickery in this bill that isn’t being disclosed to the public,” he added, noting that the $1.75 trillion price tag is deceptively low due to the arbitrary expiration of several programs.
Musk concluded with a quote from economist Milton Friedman, which President Ronald Reagan often borrowed: “Nothing is more permanent than a ‘temporary’ government program.”
During the CEO Council Summit, Musk had other strong words for proponents of big government.
“It does not make sense to take the job of capital allocation away from people who have demonstrated great skill in capital allocation, and give it to an entity that has demonstrated very poor skill in capital allocation, which is the government,” he said. “Government is simply the biggest corporation, with the monopoly on violence.”