--- title: "UN Calls Elon Musk’s Bluff, Providing Detailed Plan to Prevent World Hunger" description: "David Beasley, the director of the WFP, called Tesla CEO Elon Musk's bluff, providing him with a detailed plan to save 42 million people from hunger." date: "2021-11-16" modified: "2021-11-16" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/united-nations-elon-musk-plan-prevent-hunger" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "billionaires" - "elon musk" - "tesla" - "wfp" - "world hunger" --- # UN Calls Elon Musk’s Bluff, Providing Detailed Plan to Prevent World Hunger ![David Beasley, the director of the WFP, called Tesla CEO Elon Musk's bluff, providing him with a detailed plan to save 42 million people from hunger.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the richest person in the world, isn't a fan of taxation. He [balked]() when US lawmakers proposed a new billionaires tax plan last month, which would sap him of around $50 billion over the plan's first five years. "Eventually, they run out of other people’s money and then they come for you," he [complained on Twitter]() last month. When Tesla shares soared following the announcement of a [massive deal with a rental car company]() in October, Musk's net worth [soared as well](), making him the first person in the world to have a net worth over a quarter trillion dollars. And that had David Beasley, the director of the United Nation’s World Food Program (WFP), thinking things through. Just $6 billion of Musk's cash — a mere two percent of the CEO's net worth overall — could help "42 million people that are literally going to die if we don’t reach them," Beasley [told *CNN*]() last month. "The governments are tapped out," Beasley added. "This is why the billionaires need to step up." Musk wasn't impressed with the idea. "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," [Musk tweeted]() at the time. "But it must be open source accounting, so the public sees precisely how the money is spent," he added in [a follow-up](). But now, Beasley has called Musk's bluff. "Elon Musk, you asked for a clear plan and open books," he wrote in a [Monday tweet](). "Here it is! We're ready to talk with you — and anyone else — who is serious about saving lives." The WFP's "plan to support 42 million people on the brink of famine" would help people across 43 countries. "Urging billionaires to step up and support the fight against hunger, the organization said U$6.6 billion would help avert catastrophe," the [organization's website]() reads. Musk's cash donation wouldn't "solve world hunger," as he [erroneously suggested]() in his October tweet. Some 282.7 million people experience "extreme levels of acute hunger" according to the WFP, an increase of 110 percent compared to 2019. That's in large part due to growing conflicts, climate change, shocks to global supply chains — and, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic, all forming a "perfect storm," [according to Beasley](). The plan also includes a full breakdown of where the money would go, just as Musk requested. The biggest chunk, $3.5 billion, would unsurprisingly be allocated for "food and its delivery." Another $2 billion would be allocated for "cash and food vouchers in places where markets can function," according to the WFP. "The world is on fire," Beasley wrote in [on Twitter](). "If you don’t feed people, you feed conflict, destabilization and mass migration." So there we have it. The ball is in Musk's court, but whether he's willing to play remains to be seen. The Tesla CEO has been making moves, [offloading some shares]() of his electric car company and gaining him billions in taxable dollars. "Much is made lately of unrealized gains being a means of tax avoidance, so I propose selling 10 percent of my Tesla stock," he wrote in a [November 6 tweet](), asking his Twitter followers to decide if he should go through with the sale. Musk has started making good on his promise by unloading some of his stock, [selling $5 billion]() worth on November 8 and [just shy of $2 billion]() over the last eight days to meet tax withholding obligations. Will Musk answer the WFP's calls for a much needed cash injection to save 42 million people from the brink of starvation? That's unclear. Given his tone in the past, it's not exactly the most likely outcome. Besides, solving a global crisis back on Earth isn't exactly top of mind for the entrepreneur. His [number one goal]() is still to get humanity to Mars — even if it requires him to pay taxes. **READ MORE:** [UN Food-Aid Chief Responds to Elon Musk Challenge With Famine Plan]() \[*Bloomberg*\] **More on the situation:** *[Elon Musk’s World Hunger Tweet Is Taking the UN Wildly Out of Context]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()