How much Tesla stock does Elon Musk own? This has been the question of many after the billionaire made a Twitter poll asking his followers if he should sell 10 percent of his stocks in the wake of unrealized gains being a means of tax avoidance.
With that said, we take a look at how much Musk owns in Tesla.
Elon Musk Twitter Poll
The Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Musk asked on Saturday his more than 62 million Twitter followers to determine the fate of a portion of his Tesla holdings.
In his Twitter poll, the richest man in the world stated that he will be selling 10 percent of his Tesla stocks and assured voters that he will abide the result of the poll whichever way it goes.
I will abide by the results of this poll, whichever way it goes
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 6, 2021
With regards to the poll, there were more than 3.5 million voters in total. As of writing, Musk's poll accumulated 57.9 percent "yes" votes while 42.1 percent voted "no" on the poll.
Twitter user @Emmett__Osborne asked the Tesla CEO if the poll would head towards the way he wanted to. Surprisingly, Musk directly replied to the tweet stating that he was prepared to accept either outcome.
I was prepared to accept either outcome
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 7, 2021
Since majority of the vote supported Musk's decision in selling his Tesla stock, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, who floated the tax proposal, replied to the poll stating that the decision of the Tesla CEO should not depend on the Twitter poll.
Whether or not the world’s wealthiest man pays any taxes at all shouldn’t depend on the results of a Twitter poll. It’s time for the Billionaires Income Tax. https://t.co/KFHw3VZ45H
— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) November 6, 2021
In relation to this, CNBC stated that billionaires can benefit from tax-avoidance tactics that are not available to ordinary wage earners. Extreme wealth is frequently based on the rising value of stock and real estate, both of which are not taxable unless sold.
How Much Tesla Stock Does Elon Musk Own?
According to Reuters' Calculations, Elon Musk owns around $170.5 million tesla shares as of June 30, and selling 10 percent would be worth close to $21 billion based on Friday's closing price.
Additionally, the richest man in the world owns a 23 percent ownership in Tesla, the world's most valuable automotive firm, with a market value that recently surpassed $1 trillion--including stock options.
Tesla's stock has soared after the firm reported its third-quarter record, as well as the announcement of Hertz that it was ordering 100,000 Tesla vehicles for its fleet. Through this announcement, Tesla shares have climbed by roughly 34 percent as well as Elon Musk's net worth.
Elon Musk's Net Worth
Currently, SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO Elon Musk is the world's richest man in the world with over $300 billion net worth. Blue Origin founder and former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is in second place with a net worth of more than $200 billion, per Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
For what it's worth, both Musk and Bezos have been in a public beef over their space companies.In a previous report, a verdict has been reached in the Blue Origin vs. SpaceX case over NASA's Human Landing System. Federal Judge Richard Hertling sided with the defense, ending a months-long dispute that began when Blue Origin sued NASA in August.
In addition, Judge Hertling has requested both parties to submit recommended redactions by November 18 for the opinion to be publicly disseminated since the case concerns confidential information belonging to the corporations.
