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A fairly mild tweet from Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders was all it took over the weekend to inspire Elon Musk to deliver a troll-esque response of his own. That response, expectedly, has since spurred another revival of the broader discussion around everyday people going out of their way to passionately defend billionaires.
First, Sanders on Saturday shared a message about what he says should be expected of “the extremely wealthy.”
Musk, recent coverage of whom has focused on Tesla stock-related developments, responded the following day in a pair of tweets. “I keep forgetting that you’re still alive,” Musk said first, later bringing stocks into the conversation.
“Want me to sell more stock, Bernie? Just say the word.”
Back in October, Sanders—per Reuters—assessed a proposed Billionaires Income Tax as a “step in the right direction” when it comes to overhauling how the U.S. handles its expectations of the wealthy. That effort, however, was ultimately a short-lived one.
At one point amid coverage of the effort, which was launched by Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden, Musk responded to criticism of the proposal with tweeted agreement. “Eventually, they run out of other people’s money and then they come for you,” he said in October.
As of last Friday night, per CNBC, the Tesla CEO had sold around $6.9 billion in company stock in a week’s time. Meanwhile, the latest comments from Musk—who was recently spotted with Ye and Alex Klein—have been met with some passionate reactions. See a sampling below.