Will sell stock if...: Elon Musk hits back at WFP director's comment on hunger

Tesla CEO Elon Musk took on United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) director David Beasley on Sunday, challenging the latter's claim that even 2 per cent of money from the richest could help solve the global hunger problem. Musk said he would "sell Tesla stock right now and do it" if the WFP can enlist how exactly $6 billion would solve the hunger problem.

Beasley in an interview with CNN last week, urged two of the world's richest men, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk to help solve world hunger. "What if it was your daughter starving to death? What if it was your family starving to death? Just, wake up, smell the coffee and help." he said during the interview, addressing the billionaires.

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"$6 billion to help 42 million people that are literally going to die if we don't reach them. It's not complicated, that sum would equate to roughly 2% of Musk's net wealth," the WFP director had said.

Beasley's comment came a week after Tesla's market value surpassed $1 trillion. Tesla is the first carmaker to join the elite club of trillion-dollar companies that includes Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Microsoft Corp and Alphabet Inc.

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"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. agreed to sell a part of his Tesla stock if the UN can prove that $6 billion will solve world hunger," Musk tweeted.

"$6 billion will not solve world hunger, but it will prevent geopolitical instability, mass migration and save 42 million people on the brink of starvation. An unprecedented crisis and a perfect storm due to Covid/conflict/climate crises," Beasley responded.

Musk also asked the UN programme to furnish details of exactly how this money was going to be spent.

According to Bloomberg's Billionaire Index, Elon Musk is the richest man in the world, with a net worth of $311 billion.