Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Monday, Feb 23, 2026

Elon Musk says he's using a Twitter poll to determine the future of 10% of his Tesla shares

Elon Musk says he's using a Twitter poll to determine the future of 10% of his Tesla shares

Musk previously indicated he was likely to sell "a huge block" of his options in the fourth quarter.

Elon Musk on Saturday asked his 62.5 million Twitter followers to determine the future of a chunk of his Tesla holdings.

Twitter polls are informal, however, and Musk previously said he was likely to sell “a huge block” of his options in the fourth quarter.

At an appearance at the Code Conference in September, Musk said when his stock options expire at Tesla, his marginal tax rate will be over 50% and that he was already planning to sell soon.

“I have a bunch of options that are expiring early next year, so ... a huge block of options will sell in Q4 — because I have to or they’ll expire,” Musk said at the conference.

Other current and former Tesla board members, including Robyn Denholm, Kimbal Musk, Ira Ehrenpreis and Antonio Gracias have also sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of their Tesla shares since Oct. 28, as the company’s stock rallied.

Shares climbed after a record third quarter for Tesla, and an announcement from rental car company Hertz that it was ordering 100,000 Tesla vehicles for its fleet. Musk waited for a week after Hertz made its announcement to clarify that Tesla had not signed a contract with the rental car company yet. Before he made that statement, he taunted investors who were short shares of Tesla on Twitter, writing: “Tesla Hertz shorts.”


Since the Hertz announcement, Tesla shares have risen by around 34% and so has Elon Musk’s net worth.

According to InsiderScore Director of Research Ben Silverman, Tesla had just over 1 billion shares outstanding as of late October. If Musk exercised his options today, the number of shares outstanding would increase by just over 2%, InsiderScore calculated. Silverman predicts the effect on shareholders will be minimum, partly because the sales won’t be a surprise.

“Musk will likely continue to be vocal about what he’s doing — exercising the options because they’re close to expiration, selling stock because of the enormous tax bill and because of the liquidity of Tesla shares,” he said.

Suggesting that he was actually responding to criticism that he’s avoided paying his fair share of taxes, rather than simply managing his options holdings, the Tesla CEO asked users on Saturday to decide whether or not he should hold or sell 10% of his stock.

“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?” he said. Musk added a poll function, so users could vote “Yes” or “No.”

“I will abide by the results of this poll, whichever way it goes,” Musk, one of the world’s richest people, added. It wasn’t immediately clear what that proposed sale would amount to. As of last December, Musk owned about 22.4% of the company’s shares outstanding.


Billionaires can benefit from tax-avoidance strategies not offered to people whose earnings come from conventional wage income. Extreme wealth is often largely based on the rising value of stock and real estate that is not considered taxable unless those assets are sold.

Earlier this summer, ProPublica, an investigative news site, reported on Musk’s tax bill as part of a massive analysis of billionaires’ finances. The outlet found that Musk’s income tax bill amounted to zero in 2018. Musk later shot back, saying the reporting was “tricky” and “misleading.” He added the number was so low because he does not draw a salary, so his cash compensation is close to zero.

“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,” he said on Saturday.

Of his considerable holdings, Musk has options for 22,862,050 shares at $6.24 due to expire on Aug. 13, 2022. These options were awarded to him in 2012.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
United States Approves Over Fifteen Billion Dollars in Major Arms Sales to Israel and Saudi Arabia
Pre-Iftar Walks Gain Momentum as Ramadan Wellness Trend Spreads
Middle East Jackup Rig Fleet Contracts Further After Saudi Drilling Suspensions
Türkiye and Saudi Arabia Prepare to Sign Five Gigawatt Renewable Energy Deal at COP31
King Mohammed VI Congratulates Saudi Leadership on Founding Day, Reaffirming Strategic Ties
US Envoy Huckabee Clarifies Remarks on Israel After Expansionism Controversy
Saudi Arabia Introduces Limited Exceptions to Regional Headquarters Requirement for Foreign Firms
Saudi Arabia Joins Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, Elevating Its Role in Shaping AI Governance
Saudi Arabia and Arab States Mobilise Diplomatically After U.S. Envoy’s Israel Remarks
Cristiano Ronaldo Reaffirms His Commitment to Saudi Arabia Amid Transfer Speculation
Proposed US-Saudi Nuclear Deal Raises Questions Over Uranium Enrichment Provisions
Saudi Arabia Sends 81st Aid Flight to Gaza as Humanitarian Air Bridge Continues
Global Games Show Riyadh 2026 Positioned as Catalyst for Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030
Saudi Arabia Eases Procurement Rules, Allowing Foreign Firms Greater Access to Government Contracts
Türkiye and Saudi Arabia Seal Two Billion Dollar Solar Energy Agreement
Saudi Crown Prince Reportedly Sends Letter to UAE Leader Over Yemen and Sudan Policies
Saudi Arabia Voices Concerns to UAE Over Sudan Conflict and Yemen Strategy
Saudi Arabia Joins Global Artificial Intelligence Alliance to Strengthen International Collaboration
Shura Island Positioned as Flagship of Saudi Arabia’s Ambitious Red Sea Tourism Drive
Saudi Arabia Rebukes Mike Huckabee Over Remarks in Tucker Carlson Interview
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman praises the rapid progress of Chinese tech companies.
Concerns Mount Over Potential Saudi Uranium Enrichment in Prospective US Nuclear Accord
Trump Directs Government to Release UFO and Alien Information
Trump Signs Global 10% Tariffs on Imports
Investability Emerges as the Defining Test of Saudi Arabia’s Next Market Phase
Saudi Arabia’s Packaging Market Accelerates as Sustainability and E-Commerce Drive Transformation
Saudi Arabia Unveils $32 Billion Push Into Theme Parks and Global Entertainment
Saudi Crude Exports to India Climb Sharply, Closing Gap With Russia
Saudi Arabia’s Halal Cosmetics Market Expands as Faith and Ethical Beauty Drive Growth
ImmunityBio Secures Saudi Partnerships to Launch Flagship Cancer Therapy
United Kingdom Denies U.S. Access to Military Base for Potential Iran Strike
Türkiye and Saudi Arabia Launch Expanded Renewable Energy Partnership
US Supreme Court Voids Trump’s Emergency Tariff Plan, Reshaping Trade Power and Fiscal Risk
Mongolian Mining Family’s HK$247 Million Stanley Home Purchase Highlights Resilient Luxury Market
UK Intensifies Efforts to Secure Saudi Investment in Next-Generation Fighter Jet Programme
Saudi Arabia Tops Middle East Green Building Rankings with Record Growth in 2025
Qatar and Saudi Arabia Each Commit One Billion Dollars to President Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ Initiative
Ramadan 2026 Prayer Times Set as Fasting Begins in Saudi Arabia and Egypt Announces Dates
Saudi Arabia Launches Ramadan 2026 Hotel Campaign to Boost Religious and Leisure Tourism
Saudi Arabia Seeks Reroute of Greece-Bound Fibre-Optic Cable Through Syria Instead of Israel
Saudi-Backed Scopely Acquires Majority Stake in Turkey’s Loom Games to Expand Mobile Portfolio
Zodiac Milpro Launches Zid Marine Joint Venture in Saudi Arabia to Expand Regional Shipbuilding
Saudi Arabia Reaffirms Reform Path Amid Claims of Ideological Reversal
Calls Grow for Saudi Arabia and UAE to Settle Differences Through Direct Dialogue
Jensen Huang just told the story of how Elon Musk became NVIDIA’s very first customer for their powerful AI supercomputer
British couple sentenced to 10 years in Iran for espionage
Former British Prince Andrew Arrested on Suspicion of Misconduct in Public Office
Unitree Robotics founder Wang Xingxing showcases future robot deployment during Spring Festival Gala.
Prince William Holds Talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman During Saudi Visit
Saudi Arabia’s Humain Commits $3 Billion Investment to Elon Musk’s xAI
×