Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made a huge philanthropic gesture on the New Year by donating 268,000 Tesla shares valued at about $108.2 million, as per a regulatory filing.
It is the third consecutive year where Musk has continued his tradition of making huge donations at the end of the year.
In 2022, Musk gifted shares valued at $1.95 billion, and in 2021, he donated approximately $5.74 billion to the Musk Foundation, his nonprofit.
These large gifts are part of Musk’s year-end tax planning, which enables him to offset his significant tax liabilities while supporting causes he cares about.
The filing with the SEC did not disclose the names of the recipient charities but did indicate that the organizations currently have no intention of selling the donated shares.
Musk’s charitable donations are generally associated with his philanthropic endeavors, which include renewable energy, human space exploration, pediatric research, and developing safe artificial intelligence to benefit humanity.
The Musk Foundation
Founded in 2001 by Elon and Kimbal Musk, the Musk Foundation supports a range of causes, with particular emphasis on sustainable energy research, space exploration, and the advancement of science and engineering education.
The foundation also advocates for the development of artificial intelligence designed to benefit humanity, a cause Musk has been vocal about for years. His 2024 donation to undisclosed charities follows this consistent philanthropic approach, though the exact recipients remain a mystery.
Musk’s Wealth
Even though he donated so much, Elon Musk is still one of the richest people in the world. Forbes estimates his net worth to be around $408.3 billion, and he still owns approximately 12.8% of Tesla.
Such a large stake in Tesla, coupled with his leadership of other significant companies like SpaceX and X, puts Musk at the forefront of the tech and business industries.
Effects on Tesla’s Stock and Business
Tesla is in a small slide in stock and sales following a donation made by Musk. Tesla shares lost 6.1% and closed at $379.28 on January 2, 2025. It was as part of the bigger market fall due to a strengthened dollar, in which most of the stocks recorded losses.
Tesla also experienced a drop of 1.1% in annual sales for the year 2024, with deliveries of 1.79 million vehicles, failing to meet Wall Street’s expectation. The slowdown and stronger competition from Chinese companies, including BYD, have been contributing factors to the sales decline.
Despite all these, Musk’s gift does not seem to have been driven by a liquidity need to raise cash from his holdings since he still holds a significant portion of Tesla shares.
The Legal Fight Over Musk’s Compensation Package
In the course of his philanthropy, Musk has also encountered litigation related to his pay package at Tesla. In December 2024, a Delaware court turned down Musk’s record-breaking pay package. The package had earlier been contested by Tesla shareholders and was then valued at $101.4 billion. Its rejection may curtail Musk’s ability to receive more compensation from Tesla.
However, the drop in the last week in Tesla’s stock and its sales could not dethrone the car-making electric powerhouse headed by Elon Musk.
And to make a strong case against Elon Musk being part of these leading companies other than Tesla would require the examination of other fields on which Musk makes an impression: ventures including his SpaceX organization engaged in the venture of private space exploration; as well as his social media outlet called X.
In a historical milestone, Musk became the first person in history to surpass a net worth of $500 billion in December 2024, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
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