Based on details of his ownership parsed from regulatory filings there are two scenarios of how it could go down.
By Anders Melin and Scott Carpenter| Bloomberg Elon Musk almost certainly had his reasons to crowdsource a decision about his first mass share sale in years. Maybe it was designed to keep Tesla Inc. investors entertained — more than 3 million people voted — or perhaps to provide cover for him to diversify his fortune, or even to justify why he needed to sell stock to pay taxes. Regardless, the world’s richest person will have to hand over billions of dollars to the Internal Revenue Service however he chooses to make good on his pledge. How much Musk pays the government will depend on a variety of factors. He never specified how long it will take him to sell 10% of his stake in Tesla. What’s more, Musk may argue his recent move to Texas from California means he doesn’t have to pay the Golden State’s hefty taxes. Another big consideration is how Musk defines his ownership: does he count just common shares, or stock options, too? Based on details of his ownership parsed from regulatory filings there are two scenarios of how it could go down. In one, Musk could sell 10% of the common stock he holds, amounting to about 17 million shares. In the other, Musk could sell 1/10th of his combined number of common shares and stock options, mostly by exercising his option contracts that are set to expire in August next year.
