Photo: Tesla/SEC
Elon Musk stirred the stock market over the past several weeks after his famous poll asking his Twitter followers whether he should sell or not 10% of his Tesla stock. Even before that, Musk started selling Tesla stock in the millions. Is Musk backing away from his beloved car company?
According to financial analysts cited by CNN, Elon Musk is not less into Tesla stock, despite the huge sale that sent the share’s price roller-coasting. Although Musk sold 10.1 million Tesla shares, he still owns more than before. This is because Elon Musk is selling Tesla shares and at the same time is exercising options to buy additional stock.
Musk is also making a fortune out of this. This is because Musk is exercising his options at a bargain price of $6.24 a share, which is less than 1% of the current share price. Since his famous Twitter poll went live on November 6, Elon has exercised options to buy 10.7 million shares of Tesla. As a result, Musk still owns more shares than he did before the selling spree began.
It is worth noting that the poll had nothing to do with Musk selling or buying Tesla stock. He would’ve still sold the stock to cover the taxes he owes. He would’ve also exercised options to buy stock anyway, as those options would have expired in August of 2022. The funny thing is exercising those options is why he owes income taxes in the first place.
Those options are Elon Musk’s primary form of compensation, so whenever he exercises options, he owes federal income taxes and possibly state taxes too. Musk still has 12.2 million soon-to-expire Tesla stock options that he has not yet exercised.
Tesla is poised to award Elon Musk even more stock options as soon as the upcoming financial results will be released. After all, Tesla’s financial situation looks more promising than ever, with record sales and even better perspectives.
Musk is also making a fortune out of this. This is because Musk is exercising his options at a bargain price of $6.24 a share, which is less than 1% of the current share price. Since his famous Twitter poll went live on November 6, Elon has exercised options to buy 10.7 million shares of Tesla. As a result, Musk still owns more shares than he did before the selling spree began.
It is worth noting that the poll had nothing to do with Musk selling or buying Tesla stock. He would’ve still sold the stock to cover the taxes he owes. He would’ve also exercised options to buy stock anyway, as those options would have expired in August of 2022. The funny thing is exercising those options is why he owes income taxes in the first place.
Those options are Elon Musk’s primary form of compensation, so whenever he exercises options, he owes federal income taxes and possibly state taxes too. Musk still has 12.2 million soon-to-expire Tesla stock options that he has not yet exercised.
Tesla is poised to award Elon Musk even more stock options as soon as the upcoming financial results will be released. After all, Tesla’s financial situation looks more promising than ever, with record sales and even better perspectives.
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