Musk donated around $2.6b worth of Tesla shares in 2022

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk donated shares worth US$1.95 billion (S$2.6 billion) in the world’s most valuable automaker to charity last year, a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission showed on Tuesday (Feb 14).

Musk donated about 11.6 million shares between August and December last year, according to the filing, which did not say which organisation or organisations were the recipients.

The world’s second-richest person now owns around 13 per cent of Tesla.

Tesla did not immediately respond to an email seeking details on which charity or charities got the donations.

Musk donated about US$5.74 billion in 2021.

Analysts have said that Musk might benefit from gifting Tesla stock if he donated it to charity, since shares donated to charities do not have to pay capital gains tax, as they would if they were sold.

Musk signed the Giving Pledge in 2012, a commitment by some billionaires to give at least half their wealth to philanthropy in their lifetime or upon their death.

In 2001, he set up the Musk Foundation, offering grants for the "development of safe artificial intelligence to benefit humanity" among other causes, according to its website.

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