Tesla Inc. Chair Robyn Denholm earned more than $35 million this month after cashing in on a lucrative stock sale, taking advantage of a surge in the company’s share price following the U.S. presidential election.
According to a regulatory filing, Denholm exercised 112,390 stock options set to expire next year and sold the shares on November 15. The sale was prearranged in July through a trading plan, a strategy used by corporate insiders to sell stock in a compliant and scheduled manner.
After accounting for the exercise cost, Denholm netted approximately $32.5 million from the transaction.
Tesla’s stock has surged 38% since the U.S. election, fueled by investor optimism that CEO Elon Musk will benefit from his prominent support of President-elect Donald Trump. The rise in share price has added over $300 billion to the electric carmaker’s market value.
Denholm assumed the role of Tesla’s chair in November 2018, replacing Musk as part of a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The move was part of an agreement to resolve charges stemming from Musk’s claims in August 2018 that he had secured funding to take the company private.
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