ADVERTISEMENT

Business

Tesla Chair Sold $35 Million of Stock Amid Post-Election Surge

By Craig Trudell
Robyn Denholm, chair of Tesla Inc., during the South by Southwest (SXSW) Sydney festival in Sydney, Australia, on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. The event is the first iteration of SXSW to be held outside North America and is expected to attract around 27,000 visitors and inject A$24 million ($15.4 million) into New South Wales state economy, according to the government. Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg (Brent Lewin/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Tesla Inc. Chair Robyn Denholm cashed in from a well-timed sale of shares this month, reaping more than $35 million from stock that soared after the US election.

Denholm exercised 112,390 stock options that were set to expire next year and sold the shares on Nov. 15, according to a regulatory filing. She prearranged the transactions in July through a trading plan that US company insiders can use to sell stock.

Taking the exercise cost into account, Denholm netted about $32.5 million from the stock sale.

Tesla has been one of the best-performing companies in the wake of Donald Trump’s election victory, with investors betting Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk will benefit from having been one of the president-elect’s biggest backers. The carmaker’s shares have climbed 38% since election day, adding more than $300 billion to the company’s market capitalization.

Denholm replaced Musk as Tesla’s chair in November 2018 as part of agreements with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Musk and Tesla reached settlements with the agency to resolve securities fraud charges brought after the CEO claimed in August 2018 to have secured funding to take the company private.

--With assistance from Anders Melin.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.