Billionaire Elon Musk blasted President Biden’s latest call for more taxes on the richest Americans on Tuesday — arguing the Democratic leader wouldn’t risk upsetting deep-pocketed campaign backers.
Biden drew Musk’s ire on Saturday, when the president’s official Twitter account wrote that it was “about time the super-wealthy start paying their fair share.”
But the Twitter owner argued that lower-income Americans would effectively feel the burden of another tax enforcement push.
“I agree that we should make elaborate tax-avoidance schemes illegal, but acting upon that would upset a lot of donors, so we will see words, but no action,” Musk tweeted.
“Those who will actually be forced to carry the burden of excess government spending are lower to middle income wage earners, as they cannot escape payroll tax,” he added.
In a separate tweet, Musk took a personal jab at Biden by questioning whether he had access to his own Twitter account.
“Please give him the password, so he can do his own tweets,” Musk said. “Please, I’m begging you.”
Biden has repeatedly called for the implementation of a billionaire’s tax since taking office in 2020.
He reiterated his plan for a tax hike during a campaign visit with union workers in Philadelphia last Saturday.
“They pay the lower tax rate than schoolteachers and firefighters, lower than anyone in this room,” Biden said at the event. “It’s time they pay the minimum tax. I don’t mind them being billionaires. Just pay your fair share, man.”
So far, Musk has indicated he plans to support Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the 2024 election.
Musk has been a vocal critic of Biden’s tax proposals. In March 2020, Musk claimed that his firms SpaceX and Tesla “would probably have died” if a wealth tax had existed in 2008, when both firms “narrowly escaped bankruptcy.”
The Tesla boss has also publicly clashed with prominent liberals who have called for him and other billionaires to pay more in taxes.
In December 2021, Musk infamously referred to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) as “Senator Karen” during an online spat over his tax bill.