Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, has tweeted he will pay $11bn (£8.3bn) in tax for this year.

Mr Musk has been embroiled in a public debate on social media over how much tax he pays.

Earlier this week, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren tweeted that Mr Musk should stop “freeloading off everyone else”.

“For those wondering, I will pay over $11bn in taxes this year,” the billionaire responded.

Mr Musk, founder of electric car maker Tesla and aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, became the world’s richest person earlier this year.

Bloomberg Billionaires Index puts his wealth at $243bn, while Tesla is worth around $1tn and SpaceX is worth $100bn.

Last week, Mr Musk was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year.

That prompted Senator Warren to tweet: “Let’s change the rigged tax code so ‘The Person of the Year’ will actually pay taxes and stop freeloading off everyone else.”

US President Joe Biden is keen to increase taxes on the ultra-rich, although legislative plans have so far stalled in Congress.

Some senators, including Ms Warren, have backed the idea of taxing not only the income of America’s richest citizens, but also the rising value of the assets they hold, like shares.

Many of America’s wealthiest citizens don’t take a directly taxable salary. Instead, they hold their wealth in shares and other investments, then take out loans using those assets as collateral.

Mr Musk responded to Senator Warren’s tweet, saying he would be paying “more taxes than any American in history this year”.