Elon Musk, the tech entrepreneur extraordinaire, declared on Twitter that he would be prepared to sell some of his Tesla shares to help fight world hunger, but with one condition.
Musk’s comment was in reaction to a tweet citing a CNN Business report quoting a UN World Food Programme head suggesting that billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk – the world’s two richest men – could help end world hunger by donating a percentage of their wealth.
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David Beasley, director of the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) had said that just 2 per cent of the entrepreneur’s income could help solve world hunger.
Beasley said in his tweet that Musk’s net fortune increased by $36 billion when Hertz bought 100,000 Teslas.
He went on to say that one-sixth of this amount, or $6 billion, might assist save 42 million people who are starving.
After that Musk tweeted that ‘If WFP can describe on this Twitter thread exactly how $6B will solve world hunger, I will sell Tesla stock right now and do it.
‘But it must be open source accounting, so the public sees precisely how the money is spent,’ Musk added.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO added, however, that the World Food Programme (WFP) must publicly disclose how they are utilizing their funds.
Musk’s response garnered a mixed response from his social media followers; some commended him for it, while others questioned if the world hunger crisis could be handled in this manner.
I love you for this. Thank you for caring about people❤️
— Johnna Crider (@JohnnaCrider1) October 31, 2021
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(With inputs from agencies)
