Musk: I’ll Sell 10% of Tesla Stock Based on Twitter Poll

November 8, 2021by Matt Ott, Associated Press
Musk: I’ll Sell 10% of Tesla Stock Based on Twitter Poll
Tesla store at a shopping mall in Pittsburgh. Tesla shares slumped about 5% in premarket trading after its CEO Elon Musk said he would sell 10% of his holdings — about $20 billion worth — in the electric car maker based on the results of a poll he conducted on Twitter over the weekend. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Tesla shares slumped in premarket trading on Monday after its CEO Elon Musk said he would sell 10% of his holdings in the electric car maker — more than $20 billion worth by most calculations — based on the results of a poll he conducted on Twitter over the weekend.

According to analyst Daniel Ives of WedBush Securities, Musk owns about 23% of Tesla’s stock and has about $10 billion in taxes coming due to stock options that vest next summer.

Much of Musk’s wealth is held in shares of Tesla, which does not pay him a cash salary. “I only have stock, thus the only way for me to pay taxes personally is to sell stock,” Musk tweeted.

Many on Wall Street assumed Musk would be selling closer to 5% of his stake, Ives said, but even doubling that number doesn’t cause him or his firm great concern. Ives said better to “rip the Band-Aid off now” and avoid speculation.

“Tesla remains in pole position to drive this EV adoption curve to the next level both domestically and globally with Musk & Co. leading the way,” Ives wrote in a note to clients.

Last week, Tesla shares hit an all-time intraday high of $1,243.49 per share. It’s the most valuable car maker in the world with a market capitalization of more than $1 trillion. Shares fell more than 4% in premarket trading on Monday, to $1,167 per share.

The sometimes abrasive and unpredictable Musk said he proposed selling the stock as some Democrats have been pushing for billionaires to pay taxes when the price of the stocks they hold goes up, even if they don’t sell any shares. It’s a concept called “unrealized gains,” and Musk is sitting on a lot of them with a net worth of roughly $300 billion.

“Much is made lately of unrealized gains being a means of tax avoidance, so I propose selling 10% of my Tesla stock,” he tweeted Saturday afternoon. “Do you support this?”

Musk said he would abide by the results of the poll, which ended with 58% of more than 3.5 million votes calling for him to sell the stock.

Musk is known for roiling markets with his sometimes flippant and ill-advised tweets. Last Tuesday, Tesla shares tumbled more than 3% after Musk tweeted that a deal to sell 100,000 Teslas to Hertz had not yet been signed. Hertz said the cars were already being delivered.

Ives called Musk’s recent Twitter poll “another bizarre soap opera that can only happen to one company and one CEO in the world, Musk.”

A+
a-
  • EVs
  • Stock
  • Tesla
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Business

    March 26, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Sen. Blumenthal Lauds Expansion of Tax Credit for Offshore Wind Projects

    NEW LONDON, Conn. — Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., visited State Pier in New London, Connecticut, on Monday to tout and... Read More

    NEW LONDON, Conn. — Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., visited State Pier in New London, Connecticut, on Monday to tout and celebrate the Biden administration’s decision to expand eligibility of federal tax credits for offshore wind projects. “This tax credit has been a long time in coming,”... Read More

    March 25, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Energy Department Awards $6B to Decarbonization Projects

    WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Energy on Monday awarded $6 billion to 33 projects across more than 20 states... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Energy on Monday awarded $6 billion to 33 projects across more than 20 states to decarbonize energy-intensive industries while creating jobs and revitalizing the communities in which they are located. Funded by the bipartisan infrastructure law and Inflation Reduction Act,... Read More

    Energy Agency Announces $6B to Slash Emissions in Industrial Facilities

    The Biden administration announced $6 billion in funding Monday for projects that will slash emissions from the industrial sector —... Read More

    The Biden administration announced $6 billion in funding Monday for projects that will slash emissions from the industrial sector — the largest-ever U.S. investment to decarbonize domestic industry to fight climate change. The industrial sector is responsible for roughly 25% of all the nation’s emissions, and has... Read More

    Trump's Social Media Company Will Go Public After Merger With Shell Company Approved

    NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump is returning to the stock market. Shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corp., a publicly... Read More

    NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump is returning to the stock market. Shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded shell company, approved a deal to merge with the former president’s media business in a Friday vote. That means Trump Media & Technology Group, whose... Read More

    March 20, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    White House Unveils Sweeping Rules to Speed Switch to Cleaner Cars

    WASHINGTON — The Biden-Harris administration on Wednesday rolled out an ambitious new regulatory regime aimed at bolstering the standards of... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Biden-Harris administration on Wednesday rolled out an ambitious new regulatory regime aimed at bolstering the standards of electric and hybrid vehicles by placing new restrictions on tailpipe emissions. According to administration officials, who briefed reporters on the new rules during a conference call... Read More

    March 15, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    DOE to Provide Conditional $2.26B Loan for Lithium Project in Nevada

    WASHINGTON — The Department of Energy is extending a conditional $2.26 billion loan to Lithium Americas Corp. to support its... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Department of Energy is extending a conditional $2.26 billion loan to Lithium Americas Corp. to support its effort to build a lithium carbonate processing plant in Nevada. Once operational, the plant, which will be located in Thacker Pass, about 200 miles northeast of... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top