9 Nov 2021
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Twitter votes in favour of Elon Musk selling 10% of his Tesla Stake, says UK WageIndicator
8 November 2021 – 3.5 million Twitter users voted in the Elon Musk poll on whether he should sell 10% of his shares in Tesla. 58% voted in favour, and calculations by Reuters put the potential sale worth around $21 billion if he honours the poll result. Reuters' estimates are based on Musk's 170.5 million shares (as of 30 June 2021) and the price of Tesla's share current at $1222 (closing price on 4 November 2021). Tesla has recently become the 5th US trillion-dollar company joining the likes of Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft.
Musk created the poll in response to the current discussion around a proposed billionaires tax. US Senate Democrats have proposed the bill to finance President Biden's social spending plan and fill a loophole that has allowed billionaires to curve capital gains taxes indefinitely. The bill would mean billionaires pay tax on their stocks and tradable assets, meaning they would pay tax on any increase on these assets even if they do not sell the assets. Under current legislation, you only pay income tax on the sale of the assets. Therefore, the result of the poll, which urges Musk to sell $21 million worth of shares, suggests that a majority believe that Musk should be paying income tax of some kind on his tradeable assets.
No income?
Due to Musk not taking a salary or bonus from any of his companies, Musk technically does not have an income, and therefore currently, he does not pay any income tax. Instead, he makes his billions through compensation packages. Currently, he can buy up to 22.86 million Tesla shares for $6.24 each. This price is 0.5% of the closing share price on 4 November 2021, which was $1,222..
Since the 58% result favours Musk selling 10% of his current Tesla shares, the company share price has fallen by 9%.
Elon Musk's current net worth stands at $318.4 billion, making him the world's richest man. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, is at second place with a net worth of $203 billion. Therefore, Musk is worth over $100 billion more than anyone else in the world.
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Sources