Elon Musk says he has “almost finished” selling Tesla shares Automotive News

“There’s still some parts left, but it’s almost done,” Tesla’s CEO wrote on Twitter.

Tesla Ince CEO Elon Musk, who has sold more than $ 15 billion worth of shares in the company since early November, said Wednesday it was “almost finished” with the sale of its shares.

The millionaire made confusing statements about whether it could be done with the stated goal of selling 10 percent of Tesla shares.

“I sold enough stock for about 10 percent plus the chance to get exercise stuff and I tried to be very literal here,” he said in an interview with the conservative satirical website Babylon Bee on Tuesday.

But he suggested it might not be done on Wednesday. “This means ending 10b sales,” he tweeted, referring to a pre-arranged sales plan related to his options.

“There’s still some parts left, but it’s almost done,” he later tweeted.

Under the 10b5-1 trading plan set out in September, it has taken advantage of stock options that expire next year and sold a portion of its shares to pay taxes, according to Tesla documents.

Following a sell-off, Musk still has $ 1.5 million in stock, which is due to expire in August next year.

Tesla shares extended their gains, rising more than 5 percent on Thursday after ending 7.5 percent higher than the previous session.

“Excessive tax territory”

Musk said on Nov. 6 that it would sell 10 percent of its stake if Twitter users agreed. Tesla shares, which were close to record highs, soon lost a quarter of their value.

On Wednesday, Musk sold another 934,091 shares, bringing the total download to 14.77 million, nearly 90 percent of the 17 million shares it expects to sell.

When pre-scheduled 10b sales are completed. There are still some parts left, but almost done.

– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 22, 2021

Asked if he had sold it as a result of a Twitter poll, he said on Tuesday that he should take advantage of stock options that expire next year “what a thing.” He added that he had sold “additional stock” to close to 10 percent.

Of the 14.77 million shares sold, 9.34 million were sold to pay taxes related to the exercise of its option, according to Tesla securities.

Musk, who moved the company’s headquarters from California to Texas earlier this month, also criticized California for “excessive taxes” and “excessive regulation” in Tuesday’s interview.

“California used to be a land of opportunity and now … it’s more and more regulated, it’s a land of over-litigation, over-taxation,” he said, adding that in California, “it’s getting harder and harder to get things done.”

On Sunday, he said he would pay more than $ 11 billion in taxes this year. He said his personal tax rate is over 50 percent, which would include federal and state income taxes. Musk said last year he moved from California to Texas, where he does not pay state income taxes.

Musk also said the “metaverse,” which describes shared virtual environments, is unbelievable, adding that playing with glasses with video games can cause illness. “Of course you can put a TV on your nose.”

“I think we’re a long way from disappearing in the metaverse. This sounds like a kind of pun.