Sanders: Musk should ‘focus on Earth’ instead of space

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Monday told Tesla’s Elon Musk to “focus on Earth” rather than “multiplanetary” life amid “obscene” inequality in the United States. 

“Space travel is an exciting idea, but right now we need to focus on Earth and create a progressive tax system so that children don’t go hungry, people are not homeless and all Americans have healthcare,” Sanders wrote on Twitter, amid an ongoing exchange with Musk over wealth. 

“The level of inequality in America is obscene and a threat to our democracy,” Sanders added.

Space travel is an exciting idea, but right now we need to focus on Earth and create a progressive tax system so that children don’t go hungry, people are not homeless and all Americans have healthcare. The level of inequality in America is obscene and a threat to our democracy. https://t.co/CbMWYnPFUx

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 21, 2021

The current spat between Sanders and Musk began last week, when Sanders targeted Musk on Twitter for his massive wealth, calling the inequality “immoral” and “unsustainable.”

“We are in a moment in American history where two guys — Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos — own more wealth than the bottom 40 percent of people in this country,” Sanders tweeted. “That level of greed and inequality is not only immoral. It is unsustainable.”

Musk is worth $167.5 billion, according to Forbes.

We are in a moment in American history where two guys — Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos — own more wealth than the bottom 40% of people in this country. That level of greed and inequality is not only immoral. It is unsustainable.

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 18, 2021

Musk, the founder of the space-exploration company SpaceX, responded days later, writing on Twitter: “I am accumulating resources to help make life multiplanetary & extend the light of consciousness to the stars.”

Musk was responding to a CleanTechnia column that denounced Sanders’s comments about Bezos’s and Musk’s wealth.

I am accumulating resources to help make life multiplanetary & extend the light of consciousness to the stars

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 21, 2021

That message from Musk prompted Sanders to urge him to “focus on Earth.”

Musk has previously vowed to send 1 million people to Mars by 2050, Business Insider reported. He said he is “highly confident” that SpaceX’s Starship will land on Mars by 2026, and predicted there will be “a lot of jobs” on Mars, Business Insider noted.