10 Dec 2021

Share

Musk sells more Tesla shares, jokes about quitting jobs

accreditation
Cecile Vannucci and Craig Trudell
0:00
play article
Subscribers can listen to this article
Elon Musk.
Elon Musk.
Getty Images

Elon Musk paired another disclosure that he’s disposed more Tesla stock with a joke tweet about quitting his jobs.

Tesla’s chief executive officer offloaded another $963 million worth of shares to pay taxes on the exercise of an additional 2.2 million options, according to regulatory filings dated Thursday. He’s now disposed of about $11.8 billion worth of stock over five weeks.

The world’s richest man then quipped a couple hours after the filings posted that he had found a new calling.

“Thinking of quitting my jobs & becoming an influencer full-time,” Musk wrote, asking his almost 66 million followers what they thought of the idea. He followed this up with several laughing-emoji replies.

The CEO of Tesla and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is the world’s richest person, with a $266 billion fortune that has grown by $110 billion this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Shareholders and regulators haven’t always appreciated the humor in Musk’s Twitter high jinks. Tesla shares plunged after he posted in jest on April Fools’ Day in 2018 that the company had gone bankrupt. Later that year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued him over tweets about taking Tesla private at a price significant in marijuana culture, which he thought would amuse his then-girlfriend.

Tesla declined 2% to $983.90 before the start of regular trading Friday. The stock has fallen 18% from a peak on Nov. 4 as Musk has offloaded shares. He told his Twitter followers last month that he would abide by a poll he took on whether he should sell 10% of his stake in the carmaker. He’s disposed of more than 11 million shares since then.

Musk is now about two-thirds of the way through with trimming 10% of his direct share ownership. If the threshold he’s referred to includes exercisable options, he’ll need to get rid of another roughly 6 million shares.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
Read more on:
teslaelon muskinfluencers
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.56
+0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.27
+0.2%
Rand - Euro
19.91
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.19
-0.3%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.0%
Platinum
958.60
-0.4%
Palladium
937.50
-1.8%
Gold
2,301.23
-0.8%
Silver
26.63
-0.0%
Brent Crude
83.44
-3.5%
Top 40
69,944
+0.0%
All Share
76,047
-0.0%
Resource 10
60,380
-1.5%
Industrial 25
105,857
+0.8%
Financial 15
16,588
-0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Partner Content
MacBook 101: A Student’s Guide to Switching to Mac

30 Apr

MacBook 101: A Student’s Guide to Switching to Mac
SMEs make up 40% of SA’s GDP— here’s how the JSE is helping them grow

29 Apr

SMEs make up 40% of SA’s GDP— here’s how the JSE is helping them grow
How this work-from-home mom gets back-to-school ready with the help of Mac

26 Apr

How this work-from-home mom gets back-to-school ready with the help of Mac
Watch | Rhodes University Marks 120 Years of Academic and Cultural Milestones

26 Apr

Watch | Rhodes University Marks 120 Years of Academic and Cultural Milestones
Find more
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders
GooglePlayLink HuaweiGalleryLink AppleStoreLink
© 2024 (3.0.24094.4) 24.com. All rights reserved.
Terms and Conditions Media24 Privacy Policy Vulnerability Disclosure
Contact us Help with my subscription
Iab Logo