"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 November 12,
further wrote, "Want me to sell more stock, Bernie? Just say the
word."
Sanders' tweet comes amid the backdrop of Washington's
efforts to hike taxes for the super-wealthy.
US 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.
Shares of Tesla closed lower on Friday, down 2.8 at $1,033.42,
snapping an 11-week winning streak. The shares are up more than 46 percent this
year following a sharp rally in October.
The stock sales, which marked the first time that Musk
cashed out on a stake of that size since the company was founded in 2003, were
massive by capital market standards, eclipsing the initial public offerings of
most companies.
By getting Twitter users to green-light the move, he has
blunted potential criticism of cashing out at a time when Tesla's valuation has
become frothy and shares are at record highs. © Reuters