Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Elizabeth Warren Expertly Rips 'TIME' Magazine For Naming Elon Musk Their 'Person Of The Year'

Elizabeth Warren Expertly Rips 'TIME' Magazine For Naming Elon Musk Their 'Person Of The Year'
Patrick Semansky-Pool/Getty Images; Theo Wargo/Getty Images for TIME

TIME magazine announced Tesla CEO Elon Musk as 2021's "Person of the Year," and a lot of people are not having it—especially Democratic Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Warren blastedTIME for its decision to honor the businessman who, as she put it, amassed a $297 billion fortune by "freeloading" off of the rest of the country.


See her tweet on the matter below.

Along with an article about Musk's honor by TIME, Warren tweeted:

"Let’s change the rigged tax code so The Person of the Year will actually pay taxes and stop freeloading off everyone else."

But Warren didn't just stop there.

She posted another tweet which included a parody of Musk's TIME cover created by non-profit activist group Americans for Tax Fairness that throws into stark relief just how strikingly he has benefitted from the tax code.

Along with the parody TIME cover, which points out Musk paid no federal income tax in 2018 and has paid an effective tax rate of 3.27% since—a rate less than one-fourth of the average 13.3% most non-wealthy Americans pay—Warren wrote:

"When someone makes it big in America—millionaire big, billionaire big, Person of the Year big—part of it has to include paying it forward so the next kid can get a chance, too."

Musk has frequently—and usually snidely—decried any government proposal or journalistic analysis that suggests he should pay taxes on his wealth.

Most recently, Democratic Senator Ron Wyden proposed an overhaul of the American tax code that would take Musk's tax liability to $10 billion per year.

That number sounds big, but it is a fraction of Musk's wealth. After all, he'd still have $287 billion left after the first year, which would still make him the world's richest man by a more than $100 billion margin.

Nevertheless, Musk whined about the proposal on Twitter, implying it amounts to theft because the government has "run out of other people's money"—a preposterous and mendacious charge given Tesla's dependence on tax dollars for its operations.

Musk's company is both a government contractor and a recipient of federal subsidies—as in handouts of Americans' tax dollars—for its operations.

And Tesla owes its very existence to government handouts. It would have shuttered altogether in 2009 if the federal government had not bailed the company out, again with Americans' tax dollars.

On Twitter, many people cheered Warren on for calling Musk out as America's most entitled and ungrateful billionaire.





Despite his history with handouts of government tax dollars, Musk toldTIME he opposes subsidies like those that have been the linchpin of his success because the government is "not a good steward of capital."

More from People

Kid Rock
Todd Kirkland/Getty Images

Kid Rock Dragged After Donning A Truly Over-The-Top Outfit For His White House Visit

Singer Kid Rock was slammed for wearing a loud patriotic costume inside the Oval Office as Republican President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday against ticket scalping.

The rocker's outfit consisted of a red, white, and blue jacket emblazoned with two eagles facing each other above the American flag with the number 250, a nod to America's upcoming 250th anniversary, and white stars on his sleeves.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Bill Cassidy
CNBC

MAGA Senator Just Said The Quiet Part Out Loud With Epic Freudian Slip About Medicare

Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy was widely mocked following his inconvenient slip of the tongue during a CNBC interview as he mused about finding ways to "cut" Medicare before quickly correcting himself.

The exchange occurred after host Rebecca Quick pressed Louisiana Republican and former physician Bill Cassidy on how his party intended to fund the “trillion-dollar tax cuts” sought by President Donald Trump.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Tim Sheehy
CNN

GOP Senator Gets Blunt Reality Check After Comparing Trump Tariff 'Pain' To Home Renovation

Montana Republican Senator Tim Sheehy was criticized after he tried to compare the "short-term pain" of President Donald Trump's tariffs to home renovation, a claim so ridiculous that CNN's Kaitlan Collins quickly pushed back on the analogy.

Trump has repeatedly referred to April 2 as “Liberation Day,” pledging to impose tariffs—taxes on imports—to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign goods. He has framed these tariffs as “reciprocal,” aiming to match the duties other nations place on American exports.

Keep ReadingShow less
Susan Crawford; Elon Musk
Scott Olson/Getty Images (left and right)

Liberal Wisconsin Judge Calls Out Elon Musk In Victory Speech—And It's Everything

Liberal judge Susan Crawford called out billionaire Elon Musk in her victory speech after winning a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, basking in successfully beating her Republican opponent Brad Schimel and ensuring that the nonpartisan court’s narrow 4-3 liberal majority remains intact despite Musk's efforts to sway the race.

Musk fueled the high-stakes race, having poured more than $20 million into supporting Schimel, according to state campaign records. That includes $3 million to the state Republican Party—$2 million of which was donated just last week. Due to state election laws, large contributions must be funneled through political parties before reaching candidates.

Keep ReadingShow less

People Describe The Worst 'Bonus' They've Ever Gotten At Work

Most of us have worked at one problematic workplace, with reasons ranging from toxic coworkers to terrible bosses to unlivable pay. Sometimes, it feels like a joke that the employees are even being paid at all!

But the biggest joke of all might be the end-of-year bonus, or lack thereof. They're at times so laughable, they take the cake for horrible work conditions, or are quite literally, a slice of cake.

Keep ReadingShow less