Topline
Elon Musk's Twitter followers voted in a poll that he posted Saturday asking for 10% of Tesla CEO and founder Tesla stock to be sold. He stated that he would abide by the poll results, regardless of how they turn out, and that it would allow him to pay taxes.
Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO and Tesla CEO, arrives at the Axel Springer Award 2020 red carpet in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Britta Perdersen-Pool/Getty Images). Getty Images
The Key Facts
Over 57% of respondents stated that they supported Musk selling his stock. 42% disagree. The poll was voted on by 3,500,000 of Musk's 62.7million followers, which is about 5% of his total followers. Musk, who is well-known for his outrageous antics on social media, stated on Saturday on Twitter that he doesn't take a salary at Tesla and that the only way for him to pay taxes is to sell stock.
Big Number
227 million. According to SEC filings Musk has 227 million Tesla shares. 10% of this is worth approximately $27.8billion as of Friday.
Important Background
Musk was the richest person ever to be born and became the first person worth more than $300 billion. His net worth currently stands at $318.4 million. Since Hertz, a rental car company, announced that it would purchase 100,000 Tesla vehicles from the tech firm in September 2016, Tesla's stock has been rising rapidly. This deal made Tesla the only company worth more than $1 trillion. The Biden administration published an analysis showing that the ultra-rich pay a significantly lower tax rate than the rest of us. According to Forbes, Musk would owe the government almost $30 billion under a failed tax proposal, which would have required billionaires pay more taxes on their stock earnings.
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Forbes: Elon Musk is the First Person Worth More than $300 Billion
Hertz claims Tesla Deliveries have Started after Elon Musk Declares That A Contract Has Not Been Signed (Forbes).
