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Musk consults Twitter, says he will sell 10% of his Tesla stock


Tesla CEO Elon Musk made noise on Twitter again over the weekend, asking his 62.8 million followers if he should sell 10% of his Tesla stock. That amounts to $20 billion in stocks. According to analyst Daniel Ives of WedBush Securities, Musk owns about 23% of Tesla’s stock.

“I will abide by the results of this poll, whichever way it goes,” Musk said in a reply to his poll. 57.9% of respondents voted for Musk to sell the Tesla stock, and 42.1% said no. The poll caused Tesla shares to slump more than 6% at the opening bell Monday.

The poll was meant to be a contribution to the debate over taxing billionaires on unrealized gains. 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.

“Note, I do not take a cash salary or bonus from anywhere,” Musk said in another reply to the poll. “I only have stock, thus the only way for me to pay taxes personally is to sell stock.”

However, it appears Musk was going to have to sell a big chunk of his Tesla stock regardless of the results of the poll. According to multiple reports, Musk has to pay $10 billion in taxes due to stock options that vest next summer. Musk got those stock options nearly a decade ago.

According to Ives, many on Wall Street assumed Musk would be selling closer to 5% of his Tesla stock. However, even doubling that number doesn’t cause Musk or his firm great concern. Ives said it’s better for Musk to “rip the Band-Aid off now” and avoid speculation.

Last week, Tesla shares hit an all-time intraday high of $1,243.49 per share. While shares fell early Monday, they’re still up nearly 60% for the year.

Musk is known for his market-shattering tweets. Last Tuesday, Tesla stock 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 the poll “another bizarre soap opera that can only happen to one company and one CEO in the world, Musk.”

ELON MUSK MADE A BIG SHOW OVER THE DEBATE ON TAXING BILLIONAIRES ON UNREALIZED GAINS OVER THE WEEKEND.

THE WORLD’S RICHEST PERSON – WHOSE NET WORTH HAS TRIPLED OVER THE LAST YEAR, ASKED HIS NEARLY 63 MILLION TWITTER FOLLOWERS WHETHER HE SHOULD SELL 10 PERCENT OF HIS TESLA STOCK, WHICH IS MORE THAN 20 BILLION DOLLARS WORTH. 

AS HE NOTES – IT’S THE ONLY WAY HE CAN BE TAXED, SINCE HE DOESN’T TAKE A CASH SALARY.

ABOUT 58 PERCENT OF RESPONDENTS VOTED “YES.” WHICH CAUSED TESLA SHARES TO BRIEFLY STUMBLE DOWN FIVE PERCENT IN PREMARKET TRADING.

MUSK SAYS HE’LL ABIDE BY THE TWITTER POLL RESULTS. 

BUT HERE’S THE CATCH. THE ECCENTRIC BILLIONAIRE DIDN’T JUST HAPPEN TO LET TWITTER FOLLOWERS DECIDE HE SHOULD PAY BILLIONS IN TAXES.

NO, ACCORDING TO MULTIPLE REPORTS, MUSK HAS A HUGE TAX BILL COMING UP NEXT YEAR ON STOCK OPTIONS HE GOT NEARLY A DECADE AGO.

SO TWITTER POLL OR NOT – HE WAS GOING TO HAVE TO SELL A BIG CHUNK OF HIS SHARES TO PAY FOR IT.

I’M SIMONE DEL ROSARIO FROM NEW YORK IT’S JUST BUSINESS