Tesla's Musk sells US$930 million in shares to cover stock option tax
SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO Elon Musk looks on as he visits the construction site of Tesla's gigafactory in Gruenheide, near Berlin, Germany, May 17, 2021. (File photo: REUTERS/Michele Tantussi)
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has sold US$930 million in shares to meet tax withholding obligations related to the exercise of stock options, US securities filings showed on Monday (Nov 15).
Musk sold 934,091 shares after exercising options to buy 2.1 million stocks at US$6.24 each on Monday. Tesla shares closed at US$1,013.39. He is required to pay income taxes on the difference between the exercise price and fair market value of the shares.
This is the second time in a week that the billionaire has exercised his stock option. Last Monday, he sold another 934,000 shares for US$1.1 billion after exercising options to acquire nearly 2.2 million shares.
The two options-related sales were set up in September via a trading plan that allows corporate insiders to establish pre-planned transactions on a schedule, the filings said.
As of the end of 2020, he had an option to buy 22.86 million shares, which expire in August next year, a Tesla filing shows.
On Nov 6, Musk polled Twitter users about selling 10 per cent of his stake, pushing down Tesla's share price after a majority on Twitter said they agreed with the sale.
It was not clear how or whether the trading plan related to Musk's Twitter poll.
