Tesla chief Elon Musk this week sold more than $ 6.9 billion in shares of his company, according to documents released Friday by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the US market regulator.
As the complainant explained himself, he does not receive a salary. Selling his shares is therefore a way for Elon Musk to pay his taxes. But this operation is not without risk either.
Before launching, the CEO of Tesla had also decided to publish a survey on the social network Twitter. Indeed, Elon Musk had turned directly to Internet users to ask if he should sell "10% of his shares in Tesla," his electric car company. Some 3.5 million users had voted in this way, and 57.9% of the votes had responded positively.
Two days after that poll, the company's shares had fallen 15.4%. But as the BBC website reminds us, "Tesla is the most valued automobile manufacturer in the world, with a market value of over a billion dollars".
On Friday, Elon Musk then sold 1.2 million shares held by his trust, or more than $ 1.2 billion, according to documents released by the SEC. This is also in addition to his sale of 3.6 million shares valued at $ 4 billion, and an additional 934,000 shares for approximately $ 1.1 billion.
1.4 BILLION DOLLARS WILL BE TAXED
In total Elon Musk has therefore sold more than 5.1 million shares of the manufacturer of electric vehicles, of which about 4.2 million were housed in a trust. About $ 1.4 billion in capital gains taxes will be taken from the $ 6.9 billion Elon Musk earned by selling his shares this week. A significant value, since this is one of the largest disposals ever observed in such a short period and without the sale being constrained or falling within the framework of an inheritance.
And although Elon Musk could have sold his shares at an even higher price before his tweet, it should be noted that the man from South Africa had already initiated the sale of at least some of these shares on the basis of a pre-established negotiation plan since September 14, as the documents also specify. It seems his decision to sell to pay his taxes was already taken, especially since it comes as US Democrats recently proposed "a billionaire tax" that could tax the richest on their "unrealized gains" .
In the meantime, the documents filed Friday with the SEC, recalls that Elon Musk still holds at the end of the operation, 1.22 million Tesla shares in open access, as well as 166.2 million other housed in a trust, the total value of which is estimated at 173 billion dollars. This contributes to making the fiftieth the richest man in the world, thanks to a total fortune which amounts to 281.6 billion dollars, or 246 billion euros.
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