Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Inc., donated 268,000 Tesla shares to unnamed charities just before the new year, according to a regulatory filing on January 2, 2025. The shares were valued at approximately $108.2 million, based on Tesla's closing price at the time.
This donation aligns with Musk's pattern of significant year-end contributions. In 2022, he donated Tesla shares worth $1.95 billion, and in 2021, he contributed about $5.74 billion to the Musk Foundation, his non-profit organization.
The Musk Foundation, founded in 2001 by Elon and Kimbal Musk, focuses on several philanthropic areas:
As of the donation, Musk owned approximately 12.8% of Tesla. His net worth was estimated at $408.3 billion, making him the world's richest person, according to Forbes.
The specific recipients of Musk's latest donation were not disclosed in the filing. However, the filing did note that these charities currently have no intention to sell the donated stock.
Following the disclosure of Musk's donation and Tesla's report of its first annual sales decline in a decade, Tesla's stock experienced a notable decline. On January 2, 2025, the automaker's shares fell by 6.1%, closing at $379.28. This drop was part of a broader market trend, with stocks stumbling and the dollar hitting a two-year high.
Tesla's annual sales fell by 1.1% in 2024, delivering 1.79 million vehicles, which was below Wall Street expectations. This decline is attributed to increasing competition from Chinese rivals like BYD and a slowing global demand.
Musk has not publicly commented on this recent donation.