Twitter votes for Elon Musk to SELL 10% of his $250bn Tesla shares
Elon Musk’s Twitter followers vote ‘Yes’ to his proposal to sell 10% of his $250bn Tesla stock to pay Biden’s Billionaire’s Tax – after he put it to a VERY public 24hr vote. So, will he put his money where his mouth is?
The majority of Twitter users believe Tesla boss Elon Musk should sell 10 percent of his stock to pay taxes, a poll on the social media platform foundIf Musk stays true to his word, he will sell about $25billion of his stocks ‘I only have stock, thus the only way for me to pay taxes personally is to sell stock,’ he tweeted Saturday afternoonLast month, Tesla became a trillion-dollar company after rental firm Hertz signed an estimated $4.2billion deal to buy 100,000 of its cars ‘Eventually, they run out of other people’s money and then they come for you,’ Musk tweeted in October after Democrats announced their plan to tax the rich
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Elon Musk’s Twitter followers voted overwhelmingly for the billionaire to sell 10 percent of his $250billion worth of Tesla stock after he told his 62.7 million followers ‘he would abide by the results of this poll.’
About 58 percent of respondents said the world’s riches man should cash out his stocks to pay President Joe Biden’s proposed ‘Billionaires Tax’ after Musk launched the poll Saturday.
‘Much is made lately of unrealized gains being a means of tax avoidance, so I propose selling 10% of my Tesla stock. Do you support this?’ the South African-born mogul tweeted.
His Twitter followers were given the option to vote, with about 3.5million participating in the poll.
‘I will abide by the results of this poll, whichever way it goes,’ Musk tweeted.
‘Note, I do not take a cash salary or bonus from anywhere. I only have stock, thus the only way for me to pay taxes personally is to sell stock.’
About 58 percent of the 3.5 million Twitter users who participated in the poll voted in favor of Tesla boss Elon Musk selling 10 percent of his stock to pay his taxes
Musk owns 20.7 percent of the total Tesla outstanding shares – 193.3million shares valued at just over $250million.
The poll came in response to Biden’s plan to tax unsold shares held by America’s wealthiest people. Normally, stocks are only taxed when sold, with owners then forced to pay a percentage of any profits they’ve made.
By 9am Sunday, 57.1 percent said yes out of a total of 3,098,699 votes. If the poll results lean to the yes by the time it closes – in just four hours – Musk could sell about $25billion of his stock, and pay a gigantic tax bill.
Musk is asking on Twitter whether he should sell 10% of his stock in the electric-vehicle company amid pressure in Washington to increase taxes on billionaires like him (file photo)
Senate Democrats have been pushing for billionaires to pay taxes when the price of the stocks they hold goes up, even if they don’t sell any shares.
These ‘unrealized gains’ would put Musk on the hook for millions of dollars in taxes.
Courts now have to determine whether unrealized gains are legally considered income in order to tax them under the 16th Amendment.
Billionaires would also pay taxes for other liquid assets such as bonds and cash – all of which can increase vastly over the years.
Much of Musk’s wealth is held in shares of Tesla, which does not pay him a cash salary.
Musk’s net worth is estimated at $318 billion by Forbes, eclipsing his next closest rival Jeff Bezos’s net worth of $203 billion in 2021.
Musk is seemingly preparing his business plan in case the courts decide to rule in favor of the Democrats’ plans.
He claimed the only viable way for him to pay the new tax would be to sell 10 percent of his Tesla stock.
Last month, Tesla saw its market cap hit $1 trillion and its shares rocket to an all-time high of $998 each after rental firm Hertz signed an estimated $4.2billion deal to buy 100,000 of its cars.
In October, the world’s richest man predicted that the Democrats’ plan to tax the wealthy will eventually expand to include new levies on middle class Americans. ‘Eventually, they run out of other people’s money and then they come for you,’ Musk tweeted
Last month, Tesla saw its market cap hit $1 trillion and its shares rocket to an all-time high of $998 each after rental firm Hertz signed an estimated $4.2billion deal to buy 100,000 of its cars
The deal will see Hertz roll out the $42,000 Model 3’s across its locations in the US and Europe by the end of 2022, and is the largest single order for electric cars ever placed.
Musk, who is known for his sometimes flippant tweets, said he would ‘abide by the results of this poll.’
He also owns SpaceX, which analysts say could make him even more money than Tesla, and result in Musk becoming the world’s first trillionaire.
Musk’s SpaceX was unsuccessfully challenged in court by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin earlier this year.
Blue Origin argued that a $2.9 billion lunar lander contract was unfairly awarded to rival SpaceX. In response, Elon Musk rolled his fellow multi-billionaire Bezos, tweeting he ‘can’t get it up (to orbit).’
Blue Origin was originally in competition with SpaceX and a third firm called Dynetics for what was expected to be two NASA contracts.
In July, the GAO rejected Blue Origin’s protest, finding ‘NASA did not violate procurement law or regulation when it decided to make only one award,’ striking down Blue Origin’s main argument.
Musk had prreviously taken to Twitter to slam the tax plan.
After Democrats announced their plans for a new billionaires’ tax to help pay for Biden’s social services and climate change plan in October, Musk predicted that the Democrats’ plan to tax the wealthy will eventually expand to include new levies on middle-class Americans.
‘Eventually, they run out of other people’s money and then they come for you,’ Musk tweeted.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that Musk and his rival, Jeff Bezos, have in recent years paid nothing in federal income tax.
Musk’s wealth grew an estimated $13.9billion between 2014 and 2018.
He reported $1.52billion in total income and paid $455million in taxes. It equates to a 3.27 percent true tax rate.
In 2018, Musk paid no federal income tax. The records show he paid $68,000 in 2015 and $65,000 in 2017.
