Musk polls Twitter on whether he should sell 10 percent of his Tesla shares

 Elon Musk has polled his more than 62 million Twitter followers about whether he should sell 10 percent of his Tesla shares, insisting he would do as voters say.

The over-the-top electric car maker's query on Saturday follows a proposal by Congressional Democrats to tax the super-wealthy more heavily by targeting stocks, which are usually only taxed when sold.

"Much is made lately of unrealized gains being a means of tax avoidance, so I propose selling 10% of my Tesla stock," Musk wrote, asking followers whether they agree "yes" or "no."

"I will abide by the results of this poll, whichever way it goes," the multi-billionaire said.

Around 0700 GMT, 56.4 percent had voted in favour of selling. The poll is scheduled to end around 2000 GMT on Sunday.

Richest man in the world

The entrepreneur was also awarded a large package of stock options and convertible shares as compensation.

"Note, I do not take a cash salary or bonus from anywhere," Musk tweeted.

"I only have stock, thus the only way for me to pay taxes personally is to sell stock."

Musk owned about 17 percent of Tesla's outstanding shares as of June 30, currently worth $208.37 billion, according to Bloomberg. 

Musk's shareholding in Tesla comes to about 170.5 million shares as of June 30 and selling 10 percent of his stock would amount close to $21 billion based on Friday's closing, according to Reuters calculations.

Taking into account his stakes in his other companies such as neurotechnology firm Neuralink and especially SpaceX, Musk is in theory the richest man in the world, with an estimated fortune of some $338 billion, according to Bloomberg.

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