Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk sold another 934,090 shares, or roughly $1.02 billion, in his electric vehicle and solar business, according to financial records released late Tuesday(20-12-2021).
Musk was given the option to buy approximately 1.6 million Tesla shares at a strike price of $6.24 per share as part of a 2012 compensation package. According to the Wall Street Journal, Musk increased his Tesla stock holdings from 170.5 million to over 177 million shares this quarter by exercising options.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has been on a selling frenzy since November 8, mainly to cover his looming tax payments.
Elon Musk, the celebrity CEO, polled his millions of Twitter followers on whether he should sell 10% of Tesla stock in the first week of November. Although the poll resulted in yes votes, a major number of the sales were made in accordance with Musk’s plan, which he announced in September of this year.
CEOs and executives can trade their stock in accordance with 10b5-1 standards as part of declared portfolio management strategies. They must reveal their intentions in advance if they intend to trade to prevent being accused of insider trading later.
Musk has become the world’s wealthiest person as Tesla shares have risen by more than 54% this year. His wealth amounts to more than $275 billion, according to Forbes estimates. The wealth on Musk’s hands comes from his ownership stakes in Tesla and SpaceX. He doesn’t take a salary or cash bonuses and had not sold many Tesla shares until this year. Instead, he took out loans against Tesla shares.
ProPublica previously reported that since taxpayers only pay taxes on income or stock when it is sold, Musk never had to pay an extensive amount in taxes relative to his net worth. Musk has become the subject of reports that he will pay the highest single individual tax bill in U.S. history, with estimated federal and California tax bills topping $11 billion.
Who is Elon Musk?
He launches satellites into orbit and harnesses the sun, and he rides a car he invented that runs on electricity and rarely requires a driver. The stock market rises or swoons with a flick of his finger. His every word is watched by a legion of adoring fans. As he bestrides Earth, square-jawed and unstoppable, he thinks of Mars. Who is HE? The man of the year 2021- Elon Musk.
Elon Reeve Musk is a business tycoon and entrepreneur. He is the founder, CEO, and Chief Engineer of SpaceX; an early-stage investor, Tesla’s CEO, and Product Architect; the founder of The Boring Company; and a co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI. Musk is the world’s wealthiest person, with an estimated net worth of around US$280 billion as of December 2021.
The hyper socially active billionaire likes to share every possible moment of his life on social media. An example is: “Just dropping some friends off at the pool,” the 50-year-old zillionaire informed his 66 million Twitter followers on the evening of Nov. 30, having previously advised that at least half his tweets were “made on a porcelain throne.” After an interval—21 minutes, if you must know—an update: “Splish splash.” However, the Nov 29th post is deleted leaving the “splish-splash” tweet!