Elon Musk sells stocks worth $16 billion

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has reportedly finished selling a total of 16 billion-dollars worth of the shares he holds in his electric car company to pay his taxes.

Reuters and other news outlets report that his latest transaction on Tuesday brings the total number of shares he has offloaded to 15.7 million. That’s about 10 percent of his stake in Tesla.

In a Twitter poll he conducted in November, Musk asked his followers if he should sell 10 percent of his Tesla shares to pay tax bills. A majority of his followers supported the idea, and he has since pushed ahead with his stock sales.

The move is seen as a response to criticism that wealthy people are not paying their fair share of taxes. But some observers say Musk had been planning the sales for a while.

It remains to be seen how his response will affect the ongoing debate in America about increasing taxes on wealthy people.

News agencies