![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/CTUJLUV5UJHAZGEYYC4SZP4X64.jpeg?smart=true&auth=06b04e5a98fa419bd1f0fab1f373ab50de3e400d5636b1509d4525d16f15cc3e&width=400&height=225)
Mr Musk with Armin Laschet, CDU party federal chairman and prime minister of Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia, talk during a tour of the plant of the future foundry of the Tesla Gigafactory in Grünheide, near Berlin, Germany. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/77WQEBJPJAFOYLCKF64OJH77N4.jpg?smart=true&auth=0a0c825b34e1e827e1d7de3a3868285101d21a259ff447adfea21119706c9419&width=400&height=225)
Mr Musk unveils a new all-wheel-drive version of the Model S car in Hawthorne, California, in 2014. Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/7FZR7KFIKFF4VL7K7IGQH3ATUE.jpeg?smart=true&auth=e419ee329b00d63af9094dcd59fa686a0371c6188026e084fbced9740c6ab8b7&width=400&height=225)
Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk. Getty Images
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Mr Musk with music producer Quincy Jones. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/NTBXZ2XTRVBTJMXQWN4W6Q7MYE.jpeg?smart=true&auth=06451894af70d2e03ea7bdc79a0c282aa339e11f367778c05bc2ba183749f280&width=400&height=225)
The wealthiest person in the world with a worth of $274.3 billion, Mr Musk was named 'Person of the Year' by 'Time' magazine in 2021. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/I42YFJK4XVBXXJJLCMXKU2WKY4.jpeg?smart=true&auth=52f6e78d7b3397cc925af807974bbc1f3e2e50dc8e04523dfd329cdcdf98c519&width=400&height=225)
Focus on Mr Musk's taxes grew last year as Tesla achieved a rarefied $1 trillion in market value. Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/E2MNV6Q4LRBGRMXSKGJKZ4H3JM.jpeg?smart=true&auth=84ec95efa26af16075292d93c0b09be7941265c295aa1939f0d64337ae4aa913&width=400&height=225)
The billionaire has hit back, saying he does not draw a salary from either SpaceX or Tesla, and pays an effective tax rate of 53 per cent on stock options he exercises. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/UVTFQSM4XVGCLCIPBDTXORQDDY.jpeg?smart=true&auth=1e81657e9ffa7af1341b74467793ba6c16cda41fd2f219d2bb75a961c2aff734&width=400&height=225)
Then US president Barack Obama speaks to Mr Musk on a tour of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 2010. Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/R2OG4BNXIZDYXI2JF5ORTC5DJE.jpeg?smart=true&auth=ad985c99d95f322bf485f823e33b259bbfa5ec62b0d4e9a9b68e5f3ed493804d&width=400&height=225)
Mr Musk during a television interview after Tesla's initial public offering at the Nasdaq market in New York, in 2010. Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/JNYUVAI745DYJBQIFHS7L5IIX4.jpeg?smart=true&auth=f43870145786f933af6527557ff9e2b27d0696a02135e9efeb744dd0b9389fb0&width=400&height=225)
With former wife Talulah Riley at the 2011 Orange British Academy Film Awards in London. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/ZR4LVVSKLJAYNK546FARFFAZAI.jpeg?smart=true&auth=fcb0e30b1f782abc4e0200a670cb7cee3a1c70603d10465e95abd74270d1d24e&width=400&height=225)
With Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe after a test drive of the Tesla Model S P85D in Palo Alto, California, in 2015. Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/U4E54PEXP5DLXE5UI42XY7D7PI.jpeg?smart=true&auth=c1d198593f3084b383b851cf3da3a041697ab6bff0d1e2d3e3022c9f95f9afb6&width=400&height=225)
Mr Musk during the 67th International Astronautics Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2016. EPA
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/OE52X7B7H5HAFA6CMHCF6TX5F4.jpeg?smart=true&auth=a2036bb455892ddc6ea268946e417d4eb57a11295a000d9c6edacd9efe8f110e&width=400&height=225)
From left: SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk, Corning chief executive Wendell Weeks, then US president Donald Trump and Johnson & Johnson chief executive Alex Gorsky during a meeting at the White House. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/AYA4AZ7H5JDA7ITRL5KZ27FY5M.jpeg?smart=true&auth=8b779f35d661fd0075757e2c5099b89198a9b11276c595cd45ad4ba4bb280704&width=400&height=225)
Mr Musk and former wife Grimes at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, in 2018. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/WN3FLRXTWZFBRBTHAVDVNLT6AI.jpeg?smart=true&auth=0c7a40aa1b5cf2f05b9aa34781fa30867a9e9d47b82ded3905e6f28b1514c909&width=400&height=225)
Mr Musk leaves a court in New York City, in 2019, after a hearing in a lawsuit brought against him by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/O3TUQ6FMJNAVJB3MV7KDOFXKUM.jpeg?smart=true&auth=96256a1fb4e0f1a4e4689716b585876faa713287e2bcce222380b685dd854de1&width=400&height=225)
A prototype of SpaceX's Starship spacecraft is seen before Mr Musk gives an update on the company's Mars rocket Starship in Boca Chica, Texas, in 2019. Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/W43VADQL5NADTIXY6F7N7O4JYI.jpeg?smart=true&auth=312a1e85d32353eb48f1c1ef71c84bb2a6952f0788d5a627bf6703c06dda8b45&width=400&height=225)
Mr Musk at the construction site of the Tesla Gigafactory in Gruenheide, near Berlin, Germany, last year. EPA
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/J5D3BSSAXDMO46WTMBMDUI3AWQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=340370fc5a1b4e13a6812b65d66bc3ca0b7976d0e864c9c5d9e5eb5d4fdcb682&width=400&height=225)
Dancing onstage during a delivery event for Tesla's China-made Model 3 cars in Shanghai. Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/XJWNZ6UIKVARVHP5I2EVCIEKWU.jpeg?smart=true&auth=fe3428c9f949ec20b8c674ac2ce1930c33b4dafb96de665524a4c98b6e739b39&width=400&height=225)
Mikey Day as a lawyer, Cecily Strong as a judge, and host Elon Musk as Wario during the "Wario" sketch on NBC's 'Saturday Night Live', in May. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/CTUJLUV5UJHAZGEYYC4SZP4X64.jpeg?smart=true&auth=06b04e5a98fa419bd1f0fab1f373ab50de3e400d5636b1509d4525d16f15cc3e&width=400&height=225)
Mr Musk with Armin Laschet, CDU party federal chairman and prime minister of Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia, talk during a tour of the plant of the future foundry of the Tesla Gigafactory in Grünheide, near Berlin, Germany. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/77WQEBJPJAFOYLCKF64OJH77N4.jpg?smart=true&auth=0a0c825b34e1e827e1d7de3a3868285101d21a259ff447adfea21119706c9419&width=400&height=225)
Mr Musk unveils a new all-wheel-drive version of the Model S car in Hawthorne, California, in 2014. Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/7FZR7KFIKFF4VL7K7IGQH3ATUE.jpeg?smart=true&auth=e419ee329b00d63af9094dcd59fa686a0371c6188026e084fbced9740c6ab8b7&width=400&height=225)
Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/WTQAOIMGNBGYPAY33TVTA3LXHU.jpeg?smart=true&auth=fb8c15ed45305479205a64c3f0512c6bed32e8b1c5b55fbd6e7ecabde8ee55fe&width=400&height=225)
Mr Musk with music producer Quincy Jones. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/NTBXZ2XTRVBTJMXQWN4W6Q7MYE.jpeg?smart=true&auth=06451894af70d2e03ea7bdc79a0c282aa339e11f367778c05bc2ba183749f280&width=400&height=225)
The wealthiest person in the world with a worth of $274.3 billion, Mr Musk was named 'Person of the Year' by 'Time' magazine in 2021. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/I42YFJK4XVBXXJJLCMXKU2WKY4.jpeg?smart=true&auth=52f6e78d7b3397cc925af807974bbc1f3e2e50dc8e04523dfd329cdcdf98c519&width=400&height=225)
Focus on Mr Musk's taxes grew last year as Tesla achieved a rarefied $1 trillion in market value. Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/E2MNV6Q4LRBGRMXSKGJKZ4H3JM.jpeg?smart=true&auth=84ec95efa26af16075292d93c0b09be7941265c295aa1939f0d64337ae4aa913&width=400&height=225)
The billionaire has hit back, saying he does not draw a salary from either SpaceX or Tesla, and pays an effective tax rate of 53 per cent on stock options he exercises. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/UVTFQSM4XVGCLCIPBDTXORQDDY.jpeg?smart=true&auth=1e81657e9ffa7af1341b74467793ba6c16cda41fd2f219d2bb75a961c2aff734&width=400&height=225)
Then US president Barack Obama speaks to Mr Musk on a tour of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 2010. Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/R2OG4BNXIZDYXI2JF5ORTC5DJE.jpeg?smart=true&auth=ad985c99d95f322bf485f823e33b259bbfa5ec62b0d4e9a9b68e5f3ed493804d&width=400&height=225)
Mr Musk during a television interview after Tesla's initial public offering at the Nasdaq market in New York, in 2010. Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/JNYUVAI745DYJBQIFHS7L5IIX4.jpeg?smart=true&auth=f43870145786f933af6527557ff9e2b27d0696a02135e9efeb744dd0b9389fb0&width=400&height=225)
With former wife Talulah Riley at the 2011 Orange British Academy Film Awards in London. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/ZR4LVVSKLJAYNK546FARFFAZAI.jpeg?smart=true&auth=fcb0e30b1f782abc4e0200a670cb7cee3a1c70603d10465e95abd74270d1d24e&width=400&height=225)
With Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe after a test drive of the Tesla Model S P85D in Palo Alto, California, in 2015. Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/U4E54PEXP5DLXE5UI42XY7D7PI.jpeg?smart=true&auth=c1d198593f3084b383b851cf3da3a041697ab6bff0d1e2d3e3022c9f95f9afb6&width=400&height=225)
Mr Musk during the 67th International Astronautics Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2016. EPA
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/OE52X7B7H5HAFA6CMHCF6TX5F4.jpeg?smart=true&auth=a2036bb455892ddc6ea268946e417d4eb57a11295a000d9c6edacd9efe8f110e&width=400&height=225)
From left: SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk, Corning chief executive Wendell Weeks, then US president Donald Trump and Johnson & Johnson chief executive Alex Gorsky during a meeting at the White House. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/AYA4AZ7H5JDA7ITRL5KZ27FY5M.jpeg?smart=true&auth=8b779f35d661fd0075757e2c5099b89198a9b11276c595cd45ad4ba4bb280704&width=400&height=225)
Mr Musk and former wife Grimes at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, in 2018. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/WN3FLRXTWZFBRBTHAVDVNLT6AI.jpeg?smart=true&auth=0c7a40aa1b5cf2f05b9aa34781fa30867a9e9d47b82ded3905e6f28b1514c909&width=400&height=225)
Mr Musk leaves a court in New York City, in 2019, after a hearing in a lawsuit brought against him by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/O3TUQ6FMJNAVJB3MV7KDOFXKUM.jpeg?smart=true&auth=96256a1fb4e0f1a4e4689716b585876faa713287e2bcce222380b685dd854de1&width=400&height=225)
A prototype of SpaceX's Starship spacecraft is seen before Mr Musk gives an update on the company's Mars rocket Starship in Boca Chica, Texas, in 2019. Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/W43VADQL5NADTIXY6F7N7O4JYI.jpeg?smart=true&auth=312a1e85d32353eb48f1c1ef71c84bb2a6952f0788d5a627bf6703c06dda8b45&width=400&height=225)
Mr Musk at the construction site of the Tesla Gigafactory in Gruenheide, near Berlin, Germany, last year. EPA
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/J5D3BSSAXDMO46WTMBMDUI3AWQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=340370fc5a1b4e13a6812b65d66bc3ca0b7976d0e864c9c5d9e5eb5d4fdcb682&width=400&height=225)
Dancing onstage during a delivery event for Tesla's China-made Model 3 cars in Shanghai. Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/XJWNZ6UIKVARVHP5I2EVCIEKWU.jpeg?smart=true&auth=fe3428c9f949ec20b8c674ac2ce1930c33b4dafb96de665524a4c98b6e739b39&width=400&height=225)
Mikey Day as a lawyer, Cecily Strong as a judge, and host Elon Musk as Wario during the "Wario" sketch on NBC's 'Saturday Night Live', in May. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/CTUJLUV5UJHAZGEYYC4SZP4X64.jpeg?smart=true&auth=06b04e5a98fa419bd1f0fab1f373ab50de3e400d5636b1509d4525d16f15cc3e&width=400&height=225)
Mr Musk with Armin Laschet, CDU party federal chairman and prime minister of Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia, talk during a tour of the plant of the future foundry of the Tesla Gigafactory in Grünheide, near Berlin, Germany. Getty Images
Elon Musk to pay more than $11bn in taxes this year
The high levy comes after the billionaire exercised almost 15 million options and sold millions of shares
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Alvin R Cabral
20 December, 2021
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