Musk: I'll sell 10% of Tesla stock based on Twitter poll

Tesla shares were down astir 3% successful aboriginal trading Monday aft CEO Elon Musk said helium would merchantability 10% of his holdings successful the electrical car shaper — much than $20 cardinal worthy by astir calculations — based connected the results of a poll helium conducted connected Twitter implicit the weekend.

According to expert Daniel Ives of WedBush Securities, Musk owns astir 23% of Tesla's banal and has astir $10 cardinal successful taxes coming owed to banal options that vest adjacent summer.

Much of Musk’s wealthiness is held successful shares of Tesla, which does not wage him a currency salary. “I lone person stock, frankincense the lone mode for maine to wage taxes personally is to merchantability stock,” Musk tweeted.

Many connected Wall Street assumed Musk would beryllium selling person to 5% of his stake, Ives said, but adjacent doubling that fig doesn't origin him oregon his steadfast large concern. Ives said amended to “rip the Band-Aid disconnected now" and debar speculation.

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“Tesla remains successful rod presumption to thrust this EV adoption curve to the adjacent level some domestically and globally with Musk & Co. starring the way,” Ives wrote successful a enactment to clients.

Tesla has been connected a roll. As of Friday, the shares had gained much than 40% since past period erstwhile the institution announced a grounds nett for the 3rd quarter. Last week, Tesla shares deed an all-time closing precocious of $1,229,91 per share. It’s the astir invaluable car shaper successful the satellite with a marketplace capitalization of much than $1 trillion. Shares fell 2.8% from their unfastened of $1,149.79 to $1,187.49 successful greeting trading aft being down much than 6% close aft the bell. They're inactive up astir 60% for the year.

The sometimes abrasive and unpredictable Musk, whose nett worthy is astir $300 billion, said helium projected selling the banal arsenic immoderate Democrats person been pushing for billionaires to wage taxes erstwhile the terms of the stocks they clasp goes up, adjacent if they don’t merchantability immoderate shares. However, the wording connected unrealized gains, besides called a “billionaires tax," was removed from President Joe Biden's budget, which is inactive being negotiated.

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“Much is made lately of unrealized gains being a means of taxation avoidance, truthful I suggest selling 10% of my Tesla stock,” helium tweeted Saturday afternoon. “Do you enactment this?”

Musk said helium would abide by the results of the poll, which ended with 58% of much than 3.5 cardinal votes calling for him to merchantability the stock. He did not accidental erstwhile helium would merchantability the stock.

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

Ives called Musk's caller Twitter canvass “another bizarre soap opera that tin lone hap to 1 institution and 1 CEO successful the world, Musk.”

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