Elon Musk changed his twitter name to "Lorde Edge" and posted a poll about selling stock in Tesla. A $15bn tax bill looms on his exploding $300bn fortune, CNN reports, and he has to sell stock to pay it anyway, so it's all just more posturing. Edgelording indeed—his brother's already selling, after all.
The options expire in August of next year. Yet in order to exercise them, Musk has to pay the income tax on the gain. Since the options are taxed as an employee benefit or compensation, they will be taxed at top ordinary-income levels, or 37% plus the 3.8% net investment tax. He will also have to pay the 13.3% top tax rate in California since the options were granted and mostly earned while he was a California tax resident.
That the richest man in the world is like this is a reminder that wherever the bottom is, it's a long way down.
