London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Aug 25, 2026

Elon Musk Says He's 'Sold Enough Stock' to Reach 10% Sale Goal, Slams California For 'Overtaxation'

Elon Musk Says He's 'Sold Enough Stock' to Reach 10% Sale Goal, Slams California For 'Overtaxation'

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has been criticised recently over his taxes, as some Democrats demand that his impressive wealth be taxed more. The billionaire has been disputing such demands, claiming on Sunday that he will be paying "over $11 billion" in taxes in 2021.

Elon Musk has said he's sold "enough stocks" to cover his goal of selling 10% of his shares in Tesla Inc., according to an interview with the satirical outlet The Babylon Bee.

"I sold enough stock to get to around 10% plus the option-exercise stuff, and I tried to be extremely literal here", he told the outlet.


His decision to sell the stocks dates back to November when the billionaire took to Twitter to create polls to ask netizens whether he should sell.

Musk exercised 2 million more options and sold nearly 584,000 more Tesla shares Tuesday, having sold some 13.5 million shares over the past month, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. As estimated by Market Watch, it is slightly shy of the 17 million shares that constituted his 10% stake as of early November when he asked Twitter's advice on the 10% sale.

After the said polls, Tesla shares lost about a quarter of their value. Having sold the stock, Musk used 8.06 million of the 13.5 million to pay taxes.

Speaking about taxes, Musk lashed out at the state of California for its taxation requirements, saying that it is now "increasingly difficult to get things done" in the Golden State.

"California used to be the land of opportunity and now it is...becoming more so the land of sort of overregulation, overlitigation, overtaxation", Musk told The Babylon Bee.


On Sunday, the businessman shared with Twitter the sum of the taxes he claimed he will be paying in 2021: "over $11 billion". The statement comes as Musk became the target of criticism by politicians and activists demanding he pay his "fair share" of taxes. The billionaire, however, has actively disputed such demands, even engaging in verbal clashes with top Democrats like Elizabeth Warren.

After the latter called to change the country's "rigged tax code" so that "the Person of the Year" (Musk earlier received the title from Time magazine) pays more taxes, Musk branded her "Senator Karen".

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Turnbull Warns AUKUS Could Leave Australia Without Promised Nuclear Submarines
California Billionaires Pour More Than $150 Million Into Fight Over Proposed Wealth Tax
German Broadcaster Goes Dark to Warn AfD Could End Its Saxony-Anhalt Service
Badenoch Plans Major Shadow Cabinet Reshuffle as Tories Struggle in Third Place
Premier League Season Opens With Managerial Debuts and Dramatic Early Fixtures
England Cricket Drops Brydon Carse From Selection Pending Club Investigation
Graeme Dott Convicted of Child Sexual Abuse Offences in Scotland
Protesters Occupy British Aircraft Parts Factory Over Alleged Military Links to Israel
More Than 100 Former British and French Diplomats Call for Sanctions on Israel
Ipsos Poll Shows British Public Split Between Immigration Controls and Economic Growth
British Cybersecurity Agencies Raise Alert Over Growing Threats to Critical Infrastructure
Two-Thirds of England Now Under Official Drought Conditions After Prolonged Summer Heat
Institute of Directors Calls for Urgent Action to Revive Britain’s Stagnant Labour Market
Andy Burnham Visits Kyiv on First Foreign Trip and Pledges Continued British Support for Ukraine
New Daily Diabetes and Weight-Loss Pill Launches in UK Pharmacies
UK Payroll Employment Falls by 94,000 as Labour Market Cools
Onshore Wind Planning Applications in England Reach Ten-Year High After Rules Eased
UK Government Demands Social Media Platforms Remove Dangerous Driving Content After A66 Crash
Thames Water Creditors Face Backlash Over Proposed Corporate Restructuring
Twelve Arrested After Fatal A66 Crash Linked to Organised Crime Investigation
UK Household Energy Debt Could Reach £7 Billion by Year-End
UK Defence Ministry to Use Ukraine Battlefield Data to Train AI Security Systems
UK Government Redirects £4 Billion of Affordable Homes Funding Away From Social Housing
UK Government Borrowing Reaches £1.8 Billion in July, Exceeding Forecasts
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham Pledges Advanced Missile Support for Ukraine
8Bank of England Holds Interest Rate at 3.75% as Middle East Energy Risks Rise
Prime Minister Andy Burnham to Give Ukraine Classified Storm Shadow Blueprints for Domestic Missile Production
UK Graduate Job Vacancies Plunge 45% to Lowest Levels on Record
Government Audit Reveals Pressure on UK Hospitality From Business Rates and Rising Costs
Kindertransport Survivor Prepares to Revisit European Sites Linked to Her Family’s Wartime Separation
Northern England Transport Operators Strengthen Contingency Plans as Travel Demand Rises
New Implant Trials Offer Treatment Prospects for Patients With Refractory Angina
South Wales Reviews Wildfire Response After Exceptionally Dry Summer
UK Treasury Prepares Autumn Fiscal Statement Amid Spending and Defense Pressures
Norfolk Records First Wild Beaver Births in More Than Five Hundred Years
Historic Portrait of Benjamin Disraeli Reported Missing From Parliament’s Art Collection
Five People, Including Police Officers, Killed in A66 Crash as Families Pay Tribute
Most English Secondary Schools Found to Fall Short of National Healthy Food Standards
UK Think Tank Says Productivity Growth May Be Stronger Than Official Data Shows
Reform Party Proposes Lower Social Housing Priority for Foreign-Born UK Citizens
UK Government Plans Business Rate Overhaul to Ease Pressure on Pubs and Hotels
New Daily Diabetes and Weight-Loss Pill Launches Across NHS Pharmacies in England
UK Graduate Job Vacancies Fall to Lowest Level in a Decade
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham Visits Kyiv to Reaffirm Long-Term Military Support for Ukraine
Iranian Hackers Shut Down British Power Plant for Four Days in Landmark Cyber Attack
Novak Djokovic Reveals Relentless Self-Doubt and Rejects Retirement in New Documentary
Trump Imposes 50% Tariffs on Canadian Goods After Bilateral Trade Talks Collapse
First Bus Bars Unaccompanied Under-Sixteens From Evening Services in Stoke-on-Trent
Lithium-Ion Battery Fires Cost UK Waste Sector About One Billion Pounds a Year
Reform UK Proposes Lower Social Housing Priority for Foreign-Born Naturalised Citizens
×