Elon Musk Tesla Stock Sale: Reaches $5 Billion

Elon Musk's Tesla Stock Sales

Recent regulatory filings indicate that Elon Musk has divested approximately $5 billion in Tesla stock. These transactions were reported in a series of filings released late Wednesday.

Initial Stock Sales

The first disclosures detailed the sale of 934,091 shares, generating roughly $1.1 billion. These shares were sourced from a larger pool of over 2.1 million options granted as part of his executive compensation.

Musk stated in a filing that a portion of these sales were undertaken to cover tax liabilities stemming from the exercise of stock options. He faces taxation on the difference between the original grant price of $6.24 per share (awarded in 2012) and the current market value at the time of sale.

The shares were sold within a price range of approximately $1,100 to $1,200 each.

Further Sales Revealed

Subsequent filings revealed an additional sale of 3.58 million Tesla shares. This transaction is estimated to be worth around $4 billion.

The Twitter Poll and Pre-Planned Sales

These stock sales occurred after a Twitter poll conducted last weekend, where Musk asked his followers if he should sell 10% of his holdings. The poll resulted in 57.9% voting in favor and 42.1% against.

However, it's important to note that some of these shares, particularly the options, were already scheduled for sale prior to the Twitter poll, with a pre-set sale date established weeks in advance.

Prior Indications of Sales

The news of these sales isn't entirely unexpected. Musk had previously indicated his intention to sell a substantial amount of his Tesla stock.

Furthermore, SEC filings demonstrate that plans for these sales were in place as early as September 14th, suggesting the Twitter poll was largely performative.

During a September discussion with tech journalist Kara Swisher, Musk mentioned that a significant portion of his stock options would expire in August 2022 and anticipated selling them in the fourth quarter.