Brandon Bell/Pool via AP
Elon Musk is wielding his immense wealth and political power to pressure US lawmakers, shifting America from democracy to oligarchy, Sen. Bernie Sanders says.
In two recent X posts, the Vermont senator called out Musk's influence over Republicans and his warnings to legislators if they don't vote the way he wants.
"The US Congress this week came to an agreement to fund our government," he wrote late Wednesday. "Elon Musk, who became $200 BILLION richer since Trump was elected, objected. Are Republicans beholden to the American people? Or President Musk? This is oligarchy at work."
"Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, is threatening to unseat elected officials if they do not follow his orders to shut down the government during the holidays," he said in a Thursday post. "Are we still a democracy or have we already moved to oligarchy and authoritarianism?"
Musk blasted the funding bill in question as bloated and overcomplicated and wrote on X that "any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!"
He threw his weight behind Republicans' alternative bill, hailing it as cleaner and simpler. Moreover, he posted that it would be the Democratic Party's fault if an agreement isn't reached and the government shuts down.
Both Trump's team and Musk have pushed back against the idea that he's pulling Republicans' strings. Musk has said he's only bringing things to the attention of his followers, and they're free to voice their support.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO's net worth hit a record $486 billion on Tuesday, up $257 billion from the start of the year — a figure that exceeds the fortune of the world's second-richest man, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Tesla stock has slid since then, but Musk was still worth $455 billion at Thursday's close.
As Sanders wrote, Musk's wealth surged after President Trump's election victory as Tesla stock rode a broader market rally, and investors wagered the automaker would benefit from Musk's close ties to the White House. Additionally, SpaceX was valued at a record $350 billion this month, boosting the worth of Musk's stake in the rocket company.
Sanders has called out Musk several times in his criticisms of wealth inequality, which often single out billionaires for having too much influence and paying too little in taxes.
"Never before in American history have so few billionaires, so few people had so much wealth and so much power," he said in a clip from "Meet the Press" that he recently shared on X.
"We can't go around the world saying, 'Oh well, you know in Russia, Putin has an oligarchy," Sanders continued. "Well, we've got an oligarchy here, too."
The progressive lawmaker has also clashed with Musk's Big Tech peers. Sanders recently told Bill Gates that he was a "very innovative guy" who deserved to be financially rewarded for his contributions to society as Microsoft's cofounder — but not to the tune of billions of dollars.
"How much do you deserve? Can you make it on a billion? Think you could feed the family? Probably. Pay the rent? Maybe," Sanders quipped.
In response to Sanders saying billionaires shouldn't exist in 2019, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, now the world's third-richest person, agreed that "some of the wealth that can be accumulated is unreasonable."
