Tesla CEO Elon Musk has sold about $5 billion worth of shares in the electric automaker. Earlier he had asked his followers whether he should sell his 10% stake in Tesla or not. It is notable that Elon Musk has around 63 million Twitter followers.
When the Twitter poll came out in favor of the stock sale, the company’s stock fell about 16% in two days. With a market valuation of more than $1tn, Tesla is considered one of the most valuable automakers in the world.
Musk’s trust has sold nearly 3.6 million shares of Tesla. These shares are worth about $4 billion. According to documents filed with the US stock market regulator, Musk sold another 934,000 shares for about $1.1 billion. It is assumed that he sold the shares based on a pre-agreed trading plan. However, the sale of the rest of the shares had not been planned.
Elon Musk does not take a salary from Tesla. He rather has shared. He has stock options that were awarded to him as part of his salary package in 2012. These stock options will expire in August of next year. Thus, if he does not exercise the stock options they will become worthless after the expiration date.
Musk’s move is said to have come as US Democrats proposed a so-called “billionaire tax.” This tax may be the largest “unrealized gains” tax in the United States.
