Tesla VP of Finance corrects critic who claims that TSLA pays no taxes

Tesla Vice President of Finance Sendil Palani recently addressed claims from former secretary of labor and UC Berkeley Professor Robert Reich about the electric vehicle maker’s federal tax payments. 

Reich was alleging in a post on X that some big companies and the rich are getting away with fraud by not paying federal taxes.

Tesla criticism:

• Being a company led by the ever-polarizing Elon Musk, Tesla has been subjected to a notable amount of criticism.
• Among the biggest critics of Tesla is Reich, who has traded barbs with Musk several times on social media.
• In August last year, Reich penned an article in The Guardian outlining a strategy to “rein in” Elon Musk.
• These strategies include a boycott of Tesla, a boycott of X, and regulators around the world threatening Musk with arrest.
• In a recent post, Reich noted that Tesla earned $2.3 billion in the United States in 2024, but the company paid $0 in federal taxes.
• “You want waste and fraud? Look at what some big corporations and the rich are getting away with,” Reich wrote in his post.

Professor,

Respectfully, Tesla’s income taxes are not an example of fraud. Tesla complies with all tax regulations in all of the regions of the world in which we operate.

Details about 2024 Income Taxes were disclosed to last month in our 10-K. Notably – we outline our net…

— Sendil Palani (@sendilpalani) February 9, 2025

Tesla VP Response:

• In his response, the Tesla Vice President explained to the UC Berkeley Professor that Tesla fully complies with all tax regulations in all of the regions of the world in which the company operates.
• Palani also noted that if one were to look at Tesla’s 10-K, one could see the company’s operating loss carry-forwards, which resulted from the long period when Tesla was unprofitable.
• Following is the Tesla VP of Finance’s full response:
• “Professor, Respectfully, Tesla’s income taxes are not an example of fraud. Tesla complies with all tax regulations in all of the regions of the world in which we operate.
• “Details about 2024 Income Taxes were disclosed to last month in our 10-K. Notably – we outline our net operating loss carry-forwards, which result from the fact that Tesla has been unprofitable for the significant majority of its 20+ year history.
• “This has been a very, very difficult business to build. Looking at any one recent year in isolation, therefore, will not provide the full picture,” Palani wrote in his response.

Yeah. Tesla losses were high for many years, so carry forward.

Super majority of profit is from production and sales overseas, not US.

But the point I am making IS that we need tax reform!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 9, 2025

Elon Musk’s take: 

• In a separate post, Tesla CEO Elon Musk also noted that Tesla’s losses were high for many years, so the company’s carry forward is notable.
• Musk also noted that the supermajority of Tesla’s profit is from production and sales overseas.
• That being said, Musk clarified that he believes tax reform is needed.

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