In a post on X on Saturday, Sanders had a “question” for Musk. “You tell us not to worry about the jobs that’ll be wiped out by AI & robotics because the government will provide everyone with “universal high income,”” Sanders said.

He then asked how such a move would be possible. “How will that be paid for when you can’t even support a 5% tax on your $817 billion in wealth?”

The Mark Zuckerberg-led company also cancelled plans to fill over 6,000 open positions at Meta as it reported a $56.31 billion revenue and a net income of $26.8 billion during the first three months of 2026.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) launched a worker protection plan aimed at safeguarding jobs amid heavy investments into AI by tech companies.

Notably, Musk had earlier dismissed talks of AI driving job losses, saying that Tesla was planning on expanding its human workforce as artificial intelligence and robotics advancements boost productivity.

Musk was also hiring engineers with “zero AI experience” at SpaceX as the company gears up for its upcoming IPO, slated for a June listing.

Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.

Photo Courtesy: Sheila Fitzgerald on Shutterstock.com