SAN FRANCISCO: After Pramila Jayapal, the first Indian-American woman elected to the US House of Representatives, slammed Tesla CEO Elon Musk for not paying enough taxes and boasting about it, Republican Senator Ted Cruz slammed Musk for "looting" the country.

"Elon Musk made USD36 billion in one day, yet wants to brag about paying a USD11 billion tax payment," Jayapal stated in a tweet. Oh, and since the pandemic began, he has amassed more than USD270 billion in wealth.

"Time for the rich to pay their fair share!" Reacting to her tweet, Cruz said late on Wednesday: "Got it. You don't like @elonmusk, Who else do you want to loot?" Musk was yet to response to either Jayapal or Cruz, who is a staunch critic of the Tesla CEO for not paying enough taxes, on Twitter.

The world's richest person has a net worth of nearly USD280 billion. "With a top tax rate of 40.8 per cent, he faces a federal tax bill of about USD10.7 billion," according to reports.

Musk recently revealed on Twitter that he will pay over USD11 billion in taxes this year. He tweeted last week, "For those wondering, I will pay nearly USD11 billion in taxes this year." The news comes as Musk and other American millionaires face increased scrutiny over the amount of tax they pay.

Musk began selling billions of dollars worth of Tesla stock in early November, resulting in a cumulative tax rate of nearly 53 percent.

Alan Musk to set record in terms of tax payments now

Former South-Korean President to be set free following pardon

'Germany's power supply secure despite nuclear phase-out'