Investor's Corner
Who Are the Top 4 Tesla (TSLA) Shareholders?
Recent articles covering the top TSLA shareholders have concentrated on their percentage of the company shares. My interest is in the recent trading patterns, mostly involving options exercises, of these top shareholders. Here are the results on my analysis.
Elon Musk
I really do not need to give a bio of Elon. If you read this site you know everything about the man. He is the CEO of Tesla Motors and SpaceX, and the Chairman of SolarCity.
Prior to the recent secondary Public offering, he owned about 29.57 million shares. His involvement in the latest offering included 3 major transactions: (1) the exercise of stock options to acquire 5,503,972 shares of Tesla’s common stock, (2) the sale of 2,782,670 shares of TSLA common stock and (3) donating 1,200,000 shares of common stock to charity. If one also adds all of Mr. Musk shares plus all shares issuable to Musk if all options vested and exercisable within 60 days after March 31, 2016 were hypothetically exercised, Musk has beneficial ownership of 33,738,794 (33.73 million) shares or 22.5% of Tesla’s common stock.
Antonio J. Gracias
Antonio J. Gracias serves as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Investment Committee of private-equity-fund operator Value Equity Partners. His duties include overall responsibility for the Firm’s management, operations, and investing. He also sits on the boards of Tesla Motors (a company in which Valor invests), SolarCity and SpaceX.
According to his bio on the Tesla Investors site, “Mr. Gracias holds a joint B.S. and M.S.F.S. (honors degree) in International Finance and Economics from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. He also studied corporate structures and economic development at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan. Prior to completing his Masters, Mr. Gracias returned to Japan as a Nikko Securities Fellow. Mr. Gracias holds a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. He is fluent in Spanish, proficient in Portuguese, and has a working knowledge of Japanese.”
In 2013, Mr Gracia was one of the subjects of the Wall Street Journal article “Directors Take Shelter in Trading Plans.”
According to the article, “These plans—opaque documents about which little is disclosed to regulators or the public—increasingly are moving beyond the executives for whom they were chiefly devised and finding favor with a different variety of insider: members of boards of directors, including some who run investment funds. Non-executive directors’ [such as Antonio J. Gracias] use of so-called 10b5-1 trading plans, which lay out future stock trades at set prices or on set dates, has jumped 55% since 2008, a Wall Street Journal analysis of regulatory filings found. […] Valor set up a 10b5-1 plan in November 2011 and Mr. Gracias reported the sale of 927,205 of Valor’s Tesla shares from March 9 through March 20, 2012, regulatory filings show [FORM 4]. In those 11 days, Valor sold $32 million of Tesla stock, more than half its stake. Tesla’s stock price soon got hit.’
There is no requirement to disclose the terms of trading plans. Even their existence often remains hidden. Tesla does report these types of transaction in FORM 4 disclosures.
Looking at the FORM 4 disclosures, a.k.a. Statement of Beneficial Ownership, for Antonio J. Gracias available on Tesla investor web site, for the past year, I discovered that he received several Non-Qualified Stock Option awards for his work as Director of Tesla: 50,000 with exercise of $261.89 on 6/18/2015, 51,000 with exercise of $250.69 on 6/12/2015. All these options are currently “under water” (below the current stock price) and effectively worthless, until the stock moves above the exercise price.
On 6/2 and 6/3, 2014 Antonio J. Gracias sold about $3 million of TSLA stock owned through his Trust and the AIJ Growth Fund.
As of May 15, 2016, Antonio Gracias held 254,647 shares of Tesla, which were worth approximately $56.5 million, and represent about 0.18% of Tesla’s common stock.
Kimbal Musk
According to Tesla Investors web site, “Kimbal Musk is CEO of Medium, Inc, an internet software company based in Boulder, Colo. Prior to Medium, he has been involved in many young businesses. Mr. Musk and his brother, Elon, started their first company, Zip2, an early content management company for the Internet, 1995. It was the first company to bring vector-based maps and door-to-door directions to the internet, and it built the online content management systems behind more than 100 media companies, including The New York Times. Zip2 was sold for $307 million in cash in 1999, one of the largest transactions of its kind in the internet industry.”
He sits on the board of Tesla Motors and SpaceX.
Looking at his latest filed FORM 4, Statement of Beneficial Ownership, on 5/2/2016 he exercised 5,555 non-qualified stock options, with exercise price of $29.6, and sold them at a $1.15 million profit.
As of May 15, 2016, Musk Kimbal held 152,325 shares of Tesla, which are worth approximately $33.81 million, and represent about 0.10% of Tesla’s common stock.
Jeffrey B. Straubel
Like Elon Musk, Jeffrey B. Straubel also known as “JB” needs no introduction as Chief Technology Officer of Tesla Motors.
According to the company’s Investors page, “As a co-founder of Tesla, JB has overseen the technical and engineering design of the vehicles, focusing on the battery, motor, power electronics, and high-level software sub-systems. Additionally, he evaluates new technology, manages vehicle systems testing, and handles technical interface with key vendors.”
Looking at the FORM 4 filings of the last couple of years for Jeffrey B. Straubel, two things are interesting to note. First on 4/11/2016 he was awarded 1,837 ISOs (Incentive Stock Options) and 61, 771 NSOs (Non-qualified Stock Options), at an exercise price of $249.92. As with Antonio Gracias, these options are underwater, and worthless at the moment, given the current stock price.
Secondly, between May 2015 and December 2015, Jeffrey B Straubel, set up pre-determined Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plan, where he would exercise and sell about 10,000 options in almost every month, on the 15th of the month. Accordingly, he exercised and sold 75,000 shares of stock, at prices between $206 and $263, for a total profit of about $17.8 million. Not too shabby for the tech guy.
As of May 15, 2016, Jeffrey B. Straubel held 242,818 shares of Tesla, which are worth approximately $53.90 million, and represent about 0.17% of Tesla’s common stock.
Technical Analysis
Looking at today’s $TSLA stock action, TSLA is having a flat day like the rest of the market. The stock is still above the 200-day moving average, but the candle is forming a Doji, usually a sign of indecision. This could mean the end of the 10-session Heikin Ashi positive pay-day-cycle or just a pause in the up trend. I have a conditional stop at $220, that will ensure I keep some profits from the swing trade I started 12 trading-days ago.
This afternoon at 2PM PDT, the Tesla Motors Inc. 2016 Annual Shareholder’s Meeting is being held at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA.. It will be streaming online at:
https://www.teslamotors.com/2016shareholdermeeting
Elon Musk has firmly denied recent media reports suggesting that SpaceX has reduced its target valuation for an upcoming initial public offering.
The denial came directly from the SpaceX and Tesla frontman on his social media platform X, where he responded with a single word, “False,” to a post from ZeroHedge that cited Bloomberg sources.
This swift rebuttal underscores Musk’s ongoing effort to manage speculation surrounding one of the most anticipated market debuts in recent history.
False
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 29, 2026
According to the disputed reports, SpaceX had lowered its IPO valuation goal to at least $1.8 trillion from previous ambitions exceeding $2 trillion.
The claims emerged amid growing anticipation for the company’s confidential S-1 filing, which positions it for a potential public listing as early as June.
Some had pointed to strong revenue growth, particularly from the Starlink satellite internet service, which contributed heavily to the firm’s 2025 figures of $18.7 billion. Yet challenges persist in other areas, including substantial investments and losses tied to ambitious projects like Starship development and artificial intelligence initiatives, which plan to make life multiplanetary eventually.
Musk’s response highlights a pattern in which he actively counters what he views as inaccurate portrayals of his companies’ trajectories.
SpaceX, already valued privately at extraordinary levels, stands as a cornerstone of Musk’s empire alongside Tesla and xAI. The entrepreneur has long emphasized the transformative potential of reusable rockets and global broadband access, factors that fuel investor enthusiasm despite operational hurdles.
By rejecting the valuation downgrade narrative, Musk signals confidence in SpaceX’s fundamentals and its readiness for public markets on terms favorable to its long-term vision. People have been waiting a very long time to invest in SpaceX, and the valuation, as well as the introductory share price, is not going to need adjusting.
They’ll have plenty of suitors.
This episode reflects broader dynamics in the technology sector, where rumors often swirl around high-profile entities. Musk’s direct engagement with media narratives serves to maintain transparency and control the narrative around his ventures.
As SpaceX prepares for greater scrutiny in public markets, the founder’s denial reinforces optimism about its prospects. Supporters argue that the company’s innovative edge positions it for enduring success, far beyond short-term valuation debates. With the denial now public, attention turns to forthcoming regulatory filings that could provide clearer insights into SpaceX’s strategy and financial health.
The coming weeks promise to reveal more about how SpaceX will transition into a publicly traded powerhouse.
Elon Musk
The Tesla and SpaceX merger everyone is talking about is quietly building
Tesla and SpaceX may be closer to merging than Wall Street or either company is admitting.
Elon Musk has reportedly discussed merging Tesla and SpaceX with people close to him, according to CNBC, which cited sources familiar with the conversation. Tesla employees have long expected such a transaction and the topic is openly discussed internally, according to internal sources. With SpaceX is days away from kicking off its Wall Street roadshow for what could be the largest IPO in market history, this would be the first time the company will have public market currency to execute a stock-for-stock deal with Tesla.
The financial logic for a merger would make sense. A combined SpaceX and Tesla would create a conglomerate spanning rockets, satellites, electric vehicles, AI infrastructure, and energy storage valued at roughly $3.35 trillion to $3.6 trillion based on SpaceX’s IPO target range and Tesla’s current market capitalization. The two companies are already more intertwined than most people realize. SpaceX bought $697 million worth of Tesla Megapack systems for xAI data centers and $131 million worth of Cybertrucks. Tesla invested $2 billion in xAI, which subsequently merged with SpaceX. Past transactions also include Tesla selling solar equipment and parts to SpaceX, and SpaceX helping with Cybertruck materials.
Will Tesla join the fold? Predicting a triple merger with SpaceX and xAI
Musk himself signaled where this was heading in November 2025 when he posted on X, “My companies are, surprisingly in some ways, trending towards convergence.” Tesla and SpaceX announced a joint semiconductor fabrication facility in Austin called Terafab on the Gigafactory Texas campus, covering two advanced chip factories, with one serving Tesla’s AI needs for vehicles and Optimus robots, the other targeting space-based data centers under SpaceX’s infrastructure vision.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives places the probability of a merger at 80% to 90% with a target completion in the first half of 2027. The mechanics of a deal became possible the moment SpaceX filed its S-1. Legal experts said a merger likely would not spark antitrust issues but would raise concerns among shareholders in each company, with questions around which company would be the parent, how a stock swap would take place, and who determines the appropriate price. Musk holds about 20% of Tesla’s equity but controls 85.1% of SpaceX’s voting power through a super-voting share class, meaning he would largely be negotiating the terms with himself.
Not everyone is convinced the timing is imminent. Traders on Kalshi place only 33% odds that a merger will happen before May 2027. The more immediate concern for Tesla shareholders is whether the SpaceX IPO pulls capital and Musk’s attention away from Tesla before any merger consolidates the upside for both.
What is clear is that the structural groundwork is already being laid. The Terafab announcement, the xAI merger, the shared supply chain, the cross-company balance sheet transactions, and now the IPO all point in the same direction. Whether the merger follows in 2027 or later, the two companies are already operating more like divisions of a single entity than independent competitors.
Elon Musk
SpaceX just filed for the IPO everyone was waiting for
SpaceX filed its public S-1, revealing $18.7 billion in revenue and billions in losses.
SpaceX publicly filed its S-1 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 20, 2026, making its financial details available to the public for the first time ahead of what could be the largest IPO in history.
An S-1 is the formal document a company must submit to the SEC before going public. It includes audited financials, risk factors, business descriptions, and how the company plans to use the money it raises. Companies are required to file one before selling shares to the public, and it must be published at least 15 days before the investor roadshow begins. SpaceX had already submitted a confidential draft to the SEC in April, which allowed regulators to review the filing privately before it went public.
The S-1 reveals that SpaceX generated $18.7 billion in consolidated revenue in 2025, driven largely by its Starlink satellite internet division, which posted $11.4 billion in revenue, growing nearly 50% year over year. Despite that growth, the company lost about $4.9 billion in 2025 and has burned through more than $37 billion since its founding.
SpaceX just forced Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile to team up for the first time in history
A significant portion of those losses trace back to xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, which was recently merged into SpaceX. SpaceX directed roughly 60% of its capital spending in 2025 to its AI division, totaling around $20 billion, yet that division lost billions and grew revenue by only about 22%.
SpaceX plans to list its Class A common stock on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX, with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America leading the offering. The dual-class share structure means going public will not meaningfully reduce Musk’s control, as Class B shares he holds carry 10 votes per share compared to one vote for public Class A shares.
The company is targeting a raise of around $75 billion at a valuation of roughly $1.75 trillion, which would make it the largest IPO ever. The investor roadshow is reportedly planned for June 5.
Elon Musk strikes down reports on SpaceX IPO rumors
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