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Tesla's Musk donated over $5.5 billion to charity in Nov: SEC filing

The filing did not disclose the name of the charity.

Published: Tue 15 Feb 2022, 6:51 AM

Updated: Tue 15 Feb 2022, 7:14 AM

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  • Reuters

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Reuters

Reuters

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk donated a total of 5,044,000 shares in the world's most valuable automaker to a charity from November 19 to November 29 last year, its filing with US Securities and Exchange Commission showed on Monday.

Based on the November 18 closing price of Tesla shares, the donation was worth $5.53 billion.

The filing did not disclose the name of the charity.

Late last year, the billionaire sold $16.4 billion worth of shares after polling Twitter users about offloading 10 per cent of his stake in the electric-car maker.

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He suggested that he needed to sell some of the stocks, regardless of the Twitter poll, to pay taxes associated with his exercise of options due to expire this year.

He said last year that he will pay more than $11 billion in taxes in 2021.

Experts have said there would be a tax benefit for Musk potentially gifting Tesla stock. This is because shares that are donated to charity are not subject to capital gains tax, as they would be if they were sold.

In 2001, he set up the Musk Foundation, offering grants for the "development of safe artificial intelligence to benefit humanity" among other causes, according to its website. Musk's foundation has over $200 million in assets.

Musk has also flirted with more ambitious philanthropy goals. He tweeted last year that "if (the United Nations World Food Programme) can describe ... exactly how $6 billion will solve world hunger, I will sell Tesla stock right now and do it."

Musk was responding to a plea for a donation from David Beasley, the World Food Programme's executive director. Beasley tweeted he was willing to meet Musk to provide more details.



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