Musk Exercises Tesla Stock Options, Secures 20% Voting Power

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has exercised all of the stock options granted to him as part of his 2018 compensation package.

With an estimated gain of $115.9 billion (approximately 176 trillion won), Musk has increased his voting power in Tesla to 20%.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 17th (local time) that this transaction, which took place four days after the initial public offering (IPO) of SpaceX, follows an agreement reached with the Tesla board of directors in April. This came after the state supreme court overturned a lower court ruling that had previously voided Musk's compensation package.

According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Musk exercised options for approximately 300 million shares of Tesla stock on the 16th.

The difference between the exercise price per share ($23.34) and the closing price on that day ($404.66) amounts to $381.

Electrek, a media outlet specializing in electric vehicles, reported that the option exercise cost of about $7.1 billion (10.8 trillion won) was covered by returning a portion of his existing shares to Tesla instead of paying in cash.

The shares acquired by Musk through the exercise of these stock options are restricted and cannot be sold until January 2028.

However, he can exercise his voting rights immediately.

With this transaction, Musk's stake in Tesla has risen from 15% (in 2025) to 19.9%.

Musk has previously stated that he needs to secure a 25% stake to focus on AI development within Tesla.

The estimated gain comes with a massive tax burden.

As these are non-qualified stock options, the entire gain is subject to ordinary income tax, with federal taxes alone estimated to reach approximately $45 billion (68.6 trillion won).

Electrek noted that because he resides in Texas, he is exempt from state income tax; had he been in California, he would have had to pay an additional $15 billion (22.9 trillion won).

However, because these are restricted shares, the actual timing of taxation could be deferred until 2028, when the shares become eligible for sale.

This transaction concludes a six-year legal battle.

The Delaware Court of Chancery ruled the compensation package void in 2024, but the Delaware Supreme Court overturned that decision in December 2025, leading to the implementation agreement signed by the Tesla board in April of this year.

This package is separate from the distinct 2025 compensation package (valued at approximately $1 trillion) that shareholders approved in 2024.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.