Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, stands at a press event on the grounds of the Tesla Gigafactory.
Elon Musk, Tesla CEO.Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images
  • Elon Musk suggested that an age limit should be set for running for political office.
  • The Tesla CEO tweeted on Thursday, calling for those over the age of 70 to be barred. 
  • His comments follow recent squabbles with Sen. Bernie Sanders, during which Musk mocked his age. 

Elon Musk recently suggested that anyone over 70 years old should be barred from running for political office. 

In a tweet on Thursday, the SpaceX and Tesla founder said: "Let's set an age limit after which you can't run for political office, perhaps a number just below 70."

While no specific lawmaker was mentioned in the tweet, the current president, Joe Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump are both over the age of 70. And Senator Bernie Sanders, who Musk has previously squabbled with, is 80 years old.

Last month, in response to Sanders' tweet demanding that extremely wealthy Americans "pay their fair share," Musk said, "I keep forgetting that you're still alive," Insider's Morgan Keith reported.

Musk also responded with a laughing emoji to another user's joke about Sanders's age and offered to sell more of his Tesla stock.

In March, Musk responded to Sanders' criticism of his huge wealth, saying he would use his money to help humankind. "I am accumulating resources to help make life multiplanetary & extend the light of consciousness to the stars," Musk said on Twitter after Sanders implied that Musk and Jeff Bezos were greedy. 

Older lawmakers have been a point of debate for years. Although the US sets a minimum age of 35 years for people running for president, there is no upper age limit. 

Had Sanders been successful in his presidential campaign, he would have been one of the oldest presidents ever on Inauguration Day.

Insider's Grace Panetta reported that the day after Biden formally entered the 2020 Democratic presidential primary field, Trump took a jab at Biden's age and jokingly called himself "a young, vibrant man."

In 2019, 27% of Democratic voters said candidates shouldn't attack their rivals for being too old, Insider's Joseph Zeballos-Roig reported. 

 

 

 

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