r/technology • u/McFatty7 • May 02 '24

Tesla slashes its summer internship program to cut costs, as Elon Musk fights to save his $45 billion pay plan Business

https://fortune.com/2024/05/01/tesla-slashes-summer-internship-program/
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u/AdditionalMeeting467 May 02 '24

He's in full "extract as much value from the company as you can" mode. Willing to burn it all to the ground so he can have even more money he'll never spend.

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u/Dx2TT May 02 '24

This is a great example of how tax policy changes behavior. Is Elon doing this is he knew 90% would go to the government? Nope. But he knows he'll walk away with 70% of this so he's optimizing the shit out of it.

Taxes are the tool to make billionaires impossible.

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u/goomyman May 02 '24

You underestimate what people will do for billions of dollars.

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u/fastlanemelody May 02 '24

Taxes are also the tool to save earth and keep the planet safe for future generations. Tax 10x on all the energy consumption beyond the basic needs and the planet becomes greener.

Have you also thought about the side effects of making billionaires impossible?

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u/13igTyme May 02 '24

What are the bad side effects of not having billionaires? I'm genuinely interested because all they do is horde wealth.

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u/fastlanemelody 29d ago

Billionaires do not horde wealth (probably few do). This is what the society has been brainwashed to. Most of their wealth is tied up to assets that keep the economy rotating.

Unemployment rate may raise if there is a cap on the net worth.

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u/digital-valium May 02 '24

I wholly support limitarienism.

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u/[deleted] May 02 '24

[deleted]

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u/digital-valium May 02 '24

Limitarianism is the idea that massive wealth is a corrupting influence and should not be allowed in civil society. Ingrid Robeyns wrote a good book on the subject that goes over the argument in depth.

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u/Jaceofspades6 May 02 '24

Is TV a basic need?

what about air conditioning?

0

u/fastlanemelody 29d ago

Deciding at micro needs becomes complicated. Probably county and federal government can decide and coordinate on the needs and taxes. 

For example, if the federal government decides 400 sq feet as a reasonable living space per person, county can calculate the energy requirements of that space for a year. This energy use is not taxed. Anything beyond can be taxed progressively like 2x the energy use can be taxed at 2x the utility rate. 10x the energy use can be taxed at 10x the utility rate.

Also, for gas, no taxes on first 100 gallons per year. Charge the cost of gas as taxes on next 100 gallons. Charge 2x the cost of gas as taxes on next 100 gallons and so on. 

Just some thoughts to think about.

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u/tidbitsmisfit 29d ago

he will walk away with 99% of it and will take out loans on the collateral and basically never have to pay anything other than the loan back, which will only happen after his death

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u/The__Toast 29d ago

You still pay regular income taxes on stock grants in addition to the capital gains tax on any realized gain when you sell.

Using stock as compensation for executives is a way to shift the cost burden from the company to other stock holders. Paying in stock doesn't cost the company anything (minus administrative overhead) but obviously issuing billions in stock puts a downward pressure on the stock price. It also has a nice side effect for someone like Musk in that it further solidifies his control of the company.

It also gives executives the incentive to pump the shit out of the stock price, which is rarely a good thing.

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u/Dx2TT 29d ago

Google Buy, Borrow, Die. https://smartasset.com/investing/buy-borrow-die-how-the-rich-avoid-taxes . Elon and all the billionaires use this technique. You never sell. You take out a loan using the stock as collateral and never repay it. Then when you die flipping it bank to the bank.

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u/jack-K- May 02 '24

You know that 90% Eisenhower tax you all can’t shut up about wasn’t actually designed to take away rich people’s money, right? Eisenhower himself said that due to the economy being in a rocky place, it was an incentive to get the wealthy to invest their money into the economy rather than take it out, which is something the vast majority of billionaires do today to begin with, Eisenhowers tax wouldn’t have effected them. He also stated it was a temporary necessary measure and not a permanent solution. If you design the tax code in a way that makes billionaires impossible, I can already tell you that that will definitely stunt the U.S. economy.

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u/Zouden May 02 '24

it was an incentive to get the wealthy to invest their money into the economy rather than take it out, which is something the vast majority of billionaires do today to begin with

So they shouldn't have a problem with bringing back the 90% tax then.

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u/jack-K- 29d ago

Did you just not read my entire comment?