undecided whether to sell shares or not, Elon Musk made Tesla shares plummet, blowing away 30 billion USD

CNN reported that more than $30 billion in Tesla’s market capitalization was wiped out on Monday after millions of Elon Musk’s Twitter followers voted to want the Tesla CEO to sell a 10% stake in the company.

Tesla shares fell 3% on Monday morning.

Earlier on Sunday, Musk posted in a post asking his followers if he should sell 10% of the 170.5 million Tesla shares he holds. After the poll closed, the results showed that 58% of the 3.5 million people who took the survey said “should sell”. “I’m ready to accept either outcome,” Musk said in a tweet after the poll ended.

Musk does not take a salary from Tesla. His 170.5 million Tesla shares were worth $208.3 billion as of Friday’s close of trading. At $1,222.09 per share, 10% would be valued at $20.8 billion.

Musk has owned 80% of those 170.5 million Tesla shares since the company went public in 2010. Additionally, he has the option to buy another 73.5 million shares. . It’s unclear if those shares will count toward Musk’s shares if he ultimately follows through with the voting results and sells his 10% stake in the company.

As of Sunday, Musk is the richest person on Earth with a total net worth of $338 billion, according to Bloomberg statistics.

The social media crowdsourcing is the latest example of Musk’s long history of using Twitter and his massive fan base on the platform to drive interest in Tesla. The world’s richest person suggested the move in a tweet citing recent discussions about super-rich hiding their wealth to avoid paying taxes. Musk does not receive a salary, but must pay taxes on any stock options he exercises.

Historically, Tesla stock has suffered many times after Musk’s tweets. A few times, the situation even got worse when the authorities had to step in. In 2018, Musk agreed he would need approval from Tesla attorneys before communicating material information to investors as part of a settlement with US securities regulators. It’s unclear whether the probe into the Tesla stock sale that Musk just conducted was pre-reviewed by attorneys general.

Last week, Musk said he was ready to sell some Tesla shares if the United Nations could prove that $6 billion could help alleviate world hunger. For years, Musk has said he would be the last person to sell Tesla stock, and in fact he often cements his position when Tesla raises money from Wall Street so his shares don’t dilute.