Elon Musk Says Elizabeth Warren Has ‘Harmed’ The Country
Twitter CEO Elon Musk accused Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday of harming the U.S. after she contacted Tesla’s board to investigate the company’s treatment of investors.
Warren raised questions as to whether Musk is misappropriating resources at Tesla, the electric car company he owns, and suggested that either Tesla or Twitter may be taking advantage of the other, The New York Times (NYT) reported. She asked the board a dozen questions about Musk’s possible conflict of interest and whether they had taken actions to protect the car company’s shareholders.
Musk replied to a tweet commenting on Warren’s letter by criticizing her impact on the country.
“The United States has definitely been harmed by having her as senator,” the tech mogul tweeted Tuesday.
The senator has further warned of possible “significant legal questions” over a potential violation of labor laws and corporate laws that she said needs an evaluation, the NYT reported. She pointed to the company’s decline in Tesla’s stock to argue that Musk appears to be distracted and has been abusing his power since his Oct. 27 takeover of Twitter.
“As you know, it is the legal obligation of Tesla’s board to ensure that its C.E.O. is meeting all his legal responsibilities and serving as an effective leader,” she wrote in the Sunday letter.
Tesla investors have raised similar concerns regarding the recent leadership at the company. Leo KoGuan, the third largest individual shareholder at Tesla, tweeted last week that Musk “abandoned” the company.
“Elon abandoned Tesla and Tesla has no working CEO Tesla needs and deserves to have working full time CEO What Tesla BOD should do, do nothing? Elon will find his own successor under BOD independent supervision,” he tweeted.
Warren previously told CBS late night host Stephen Colbert in November that she has a “real problem” with Musk following his takeover of Twitter.
“I don’t think any billionaire ought to be the one who has that kind of power, to decide how Americans, how people around the world get a chance to talk to each other,” Warren said. “I got a real problem with him.”
The senator called Musk’s $44 billion deal to purchase Twitter a danger to democracy and criticized reports that Musk did not pay any federal income taxes in recent years. Being a longtime critic of billionaires, Warren pushed for a wealth tax and legislation to “hold Big Tech accountable” in an Apr. 25 tweet.
“This deal is dangerous for our democracy. Billionaires like Elon Musk play by a different set of rules than everyone else, accumulating power for their own gain. We need a wealth tax and strong rules to hold Big Tech accountable,” she previously tweeted.
