Musk donates $100M in Tesla shares to charity
What's the story
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has donated 210,699 shares of Tesla worth around $100 million to charity. The donation was made on December 30, 2025, as part of his "year-end tax planning," according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Despite this hefty donation, Musk remains the world's richest person with a net worth of $726 billion, as per Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List.
Donation patterns
Musk's philanthropic history and financial strategies
This isn't the first time Musk has made such a huge charitable contribution. In 2024, he donated Tesla shares worth around $112 million to charity. Earlier in 2022, he gave away shares worth $1.95 billion between August and December. In 2021, Musk donated about $5.74 billion worth of Tesla stock to his non-profit organization, the Musk Foundation.
Charitable focus
Musk Foundation's mission and tax benefits of stock donations
The Musk Foundation, where Musk is president, supports various causes including the "development of safe artificial intelligence to benefit humanity," as per its website. Notably, donating shares can be a financially savvy move since stocks given to charities don't incur capital gains tax unlike those sold before donation. This makes it a preferred method for high-net-worth individuals to contribute to charitable causes while minimizing their tax liabilities. In November, Tesla shareholders approved a record $1 trillion pay plan for Musk.