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Published 10:28 IST, August 9th 2020

Elon Musk snaps at 'docile puppet of big oil' Bernie Sanders as war-of-words explodes

US Senator Bernie Sanders on Friday hit out at Tesla CEO Elon Musk for his constant attacks on his proposals for free government programs

Reported by: Ananya Varma
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Bernie Sanders
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US Senator Bernie Sanders on Friday hit out at Tesla CEO Elon Musk for his constant attacks on his proposals for free government programs claiming that 99% of what Musk was worth was because he had received $4.9 billion in corporate welfare. "Every time Elon Musk pokes fun at government assistance for the 99%, remember that he would be worth nothing without $4.9 billion in corporate welfare. Oh, Elon just l-o-v-e-s corporate socialism for himself, rugged capitalism for everyone else," said Bernie Sanders. 

This also comes against the backdrop of the recent back and forth between the two when Musk had publically opposed the stimulus package by the US government. Sanders had not only called the SpaceX CEO a “hypocrite” but also said that the latter has received several billion dollars in corporate welfare. He even noted how Tesla CEO's wealth spiked in the last four months while the unemployment in the country escalated due to coronavirus outbreak.

Read: Bernie Sanders Slams 'hypocrite' Elon Musk For Opposing US Govt's Stimulus Package

Read: Elon Musk tweets 'Mars Is Looking Real' As SpaceX Completes Test Flight Of Starship

Musk hits back

Elon Musk hit back at Bernie Sanders alleging that the article quoted by him was peddled against him and Tesla's green energy initiatives by those who have a considerable amount of stake/interests in the oil and gas business. Calling Bernie Sanders a 'docile puppet of big oil,' Elon Musk questioned the reason behind his attack on sustainable energy giant Tesla at a time when the Earth was under danger by those in control of oil and gas businesses. 

"And why aim your attacks at Tesla, when we’re doing more than any other company on Earth to advance green/sustainable energy? Have you read the news?" said Elon Musk quoting an article on global warming. 

Read: 'Complete Hallucination': Egyptians School Elon Musk For Saying 'aliens Built Pyramids'

Read: Elon Musk Claims 'Aliens Built The Pyramids', Invited To Egypt And 'explore Writings'

Updated 10:28 IST, August 9th 2020