Elon Musk let his fans vote via Twitter on whether he should sell ten percent of his Tesla shares. The result is relatively clear. 57.9 percent were in favor. The Tesla boss promised to stick to the result of the Twitter poll. We explain the background.
Six billion U.S. dollars to fight world hunger?
Around six billion U.S. dollars could make a decisive contribution to combating world hunger. It could save the lives of millions of people.
According to David Beasley, Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the sum would be equivalent to just two percent of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s current fortune.
Beasley previously made an indirect appeal to the world’s richest people to fight world hunger. Musk responded via Twitter and said that he was basically prepared to donate.
His demand: the WFP must show him a plan on how world hunger can be fought concretely with six billion U.S. dollars. As soon as this process is explained and publicly comprehensible, he wants to sell Tesla shares.
Twitter poll: Elon Musk to sell ten percent of his Tesla shares
Since Musk, according to his own statements, also does not draw his own salary, a share sale is the only way for him to pay taxes. The Tesla CEO now apparently wants to comply with this.
Via Twitter, Musk therefore launched a poll in which he asked his followers whether he should sell ten percent of his Tesla shares. For Musk, who reportedly holds around 21 percent of Tesla shares, that would be the equivalent of around 20 billion US dollars.
This should also generate a tidy sum for the treasury. Meanwhile, more than 3.5 million people took part in the survey, which has now been completed. 57.9 percent were in favor of Musk selling the proposed share package.
A reform of the tax system in the USA?
With the rapid rise in Tesla’s share price, Elon Musk’s fortune has grown considerably recently – at least on paper. However, according to current U.S. laws, taxes are only due when the price gains are collected through a sale.
Politicians in the USA are therefore currently discussing a reform of the tax system. In the future, the tax authorities should be able to levy taxes on assets. This is one of the reasons why Musk proposed selling ten percent of his Tesla shares.
The Tesla CEO also intends to adhere to the results of the Twitter survey. However, he did not give any precise details on when he intends to sell the share package. In the USA, there are often predefined schedules for the sale of shares by top managers.
Whether Musk will ultimately donate part of the proceeds to World Hunger Relief is currently unclear. Meanwhile, the Tesla share price fell by around three percent in recent days. However, Tesla shares rose by around 50 percent last month alone.
