Elon Musk says he’ll sell Tesla stock if the UN can show it will end world hunger
Over the Halloween weekend, Elon Musk issued a typically provocative Twitter challenge – this time, however, it was not about ghosts or ghouls, but rather about his favorite topics of technology, space, marijuana, and automobiles, among others.
Mr Musk responded to comments made by United Nations World Food Program (WFP) director David Beasley, who told CNN last week that global hunger could be solved with the help of a “one-time” payment from some of the world’s wealthiest individuals (including Mr Musk) by tweeting, “If the World Food Program can explain on this Twitter thread precisely how $6 billion will solve world hunger, I will sell Tesla stock immediately and do it.”
CEO of Tesla and SpaceX Elon Musk added on Sunday morning that the accounting system “must be open source accounting.”
In today’s money, the eccentric South African is worth more than $300 billion, according to current estimates.
A mere 2 percent of Mr Musk’s current net worth, he asserted, would amount to approximately $6 billion, which would “help 42 million people who are literally dying” if the funds were not made available. “It’s not that difficult.”
In response to Elon Musk’s weekend tweets, Mr Beasley used diplomacy, but he also came out with a powerful punch.
We have transparency and open source accounting systems in place, I can assure you,” he wrote in an email. In order to ensure that we are completely confident, your team can review and collaborate with us.
“Let’s talk: It’s not as complicated as Falcon Heavy, but there’s far too much at stake to avoid having a conversation,” he wrote, addressing Mr Musk directly: ” I’ll be able to get to you on the next flight. I’ll be thrown out if you don’t like what you’re hearing.”
As Mr. Beasley stated on Twitter, while a donation of $6 billion will not end world hunger, it will help to prevent geopolitical instability, mass migration, and the deaths of 42 million people who are on the verge of starvation. This is a crisis on a scale that has never been seen before, and it is a perfect storm brought on by the Covid/conflict/climate crises.”
He responded to the WFP official using his Twitterstorm persona, writing: “Please publish your current and proposed spending in detail so that people can see exactly where their money is going.”
His final words were an apparent dig at the media: “Sunlight is a wonderful thing.”
When it comes to weed on a plane, launching spacecraft, and giving his youngest child an almost unpronouncable name, Tesla CEO Elon Musk may be taking a cue from his brother, Elon Musk, who has been involved in the food debate for some time.
In Colorado, Kimbal Musk, who is less well-known and one year younger than Elon Musk, lives with his family and has dedicated his life to the promotion of sustainable eating practices. Their first business was sold for more than $300 million in 1999, and Kimbal Musk not only serves on the boards of directors for Elon Musk’s current ventures, but he was also appointed trustee by his brother, giving him the authority to make decisions in the event that Elon Musk is unable to do so.
The Boulder resident is now the co-founder and executive chairman of The Kitchen Restaurant Group, Big Green, and Square Roots, among other businesses.
According to his biography on the Big Green website, “his personal mission is to work toward an America where everyone has access to real food.”
As the article continues, the restaurant group “provides real food at every price point while also generating nearly 1,000 mission-driven jobs.”
In addition to sourcing sustainably grown food from American farmers, the restaurants also invest millions of dollars each year into the local farming economy.
In the United States, Mr Musk’s non-profit organization, Big Green, builds permanent outdoor Learning Garden classrooms in hundreds of underserved schools, reaching over 250,000 students per day in the process.
His urban farming company, Square Roots, “connects people in major cities to fresh, local food by empowering next-generation farmers to grow food in indoor, modular hydroponic farms,” according to the press release.
Kimbal Musk did not respond to his brother’s World Food Programme challenge on Twitter right away.
When it appeared that the war of words was escalating, a United Nations spokesman directed The Independent to Mr Beasley’s Twitter responses.