Musk’s Tax Bill
Elon Musk faces a hefty tax bill this year — possibly the biggest in U.S. history.
The Tesla Inc. CEO told his 67.1 million Twitter followers on Sunday that he expects to pay a massive tax bill for 2021. “For those wondering, I will pay over $11 billion in taxes this year,” Musk tweeted.
Earlier this year, the Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder became the first person in the world to reach a net worth of more than $300 billion.
The disclosure comes as Musk and other billionaires are facing increasing scrutiny over the amount of tax they pay.
As CNBC explains, Musk doesn’t take a salary or cash bonus in his role as Tesla CEO and instead is compensated in stock awards. When he needs money, he’s able to borrow it using his stock holdings as collateral, which doesn’t carry the same tax obligations.
Last week, after Musk was named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year,” Senator Elizabeth Warren tweeted that the U.S. should change the “rigged tax code so the “Person of the Year” will actually pay taxes and stop freeloading off everyone else.”
Musk responded by saying if she “opened her eyes for 2 seconds,” she would “realize I will pay more taxes than any American in history this year.”
In 2021, this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given that he’s reported to be the world’s richest person by quite some margin.
I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.