Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, has reportedly filed to sell part of his Tesla shares. Musk, who recently asked his Twitter followers to weigh in on his decision to sell some of his stocks, will now sell over $1.1 billion worth of the Tesla shares to comply with tax obligations.
Although Twitter users were shocked when Musk asked them to participate in a poll last week to have a say in his decision to sell 10% of his shares, they quickly responded to the poll. In the end, a little over 57% of the respondents agreed that Musk should sell the shares. In the tweet, Musk had promised to abide by the outcome of the poll.
Musk Planned to Sell Anyway
When Elon Musk’s brother, Kimbal sold part of his Tesla shares just a short while after the poll was created, the drama heightened and caused what analysts say was a mini-panic among Tesla investors. That panic led to over a 12% drop in Tesla’s worth over two days, causing Musk to lose $50 within that same time.
But according to findings, Elon Musk had planned to sell some of his Tesla shares anyway. Musk is reported to have reached the decision after an increased pressure to conform to tax obligations under the unrealized gains tax. Recent documents submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) show that in September, Musk had decided to sell some shares to pay tax. There had been a lot of discussion regarding tax evasion through unrealized gains; many people veiled their remarks at Musk and the other billionaires in the world.
This prompted Musk to make a decision regarding his Tesla stock. He then went on to Twitter to ask his followers to decide if they want him to sell or not. Today, on the 11th of November, Musk submitted documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission detailing the selling of less than 1% of his Tesla shares. The shares are worth an estimated $1.1 billion. This represents a 180% profit from when he bought the shares.
From Stocks to Crypto?
Musk, a known cryptocurrency advocate, is popular for his public opinions about cryptocurrencies. While he seems to love the mainstream coins, his special love is reserved for memecoin DOGE. He has often spoken about the strength of DOGE and supported a wider adoption of DOGE for payments.
Following his Twitter poll, several crypto community members responded by saying that he should consider purchasing more cryptocurrencies with the proceeds of his Tesla shares sales. Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy which owns a large amount of Bitcoin, stated that the purchase of Bitcoin should be considered if diversity is the goal as Bitcoin offers protection from inflation. Although Saylor did not address Musk directly, the statement was aimed at him.
The decision to buy more crypto from his Tesla profits rests solely on Elon Musk, but we can safely assume that Musk, one of the biggest risk-takers in the world, will consider that option.
