On Monday, the head of the UN World Food Program (WFP), David Beasley, followed up on an earlier spat with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in which the world’s richest man had offered to sell $6.6 billion worth of Tesla stock and donate it to the WFP if the UN group could explain, in a Twitter thread, how that money would be spent.
“You asked for a clear plan & open books. Here it is! We’re ready to talk with you—and anyone else—who is serious about saving lives,” Beasley tweeted Tuesday, tagging Elon Musk and linking to a page on the WFP’s site titled “A one-time appeal to billionaires.”
The WFP’s plan on that page is actually a little short on detail—breaking down how $6.6 billion would be spent across four, broad paragraphs. Of the total, $3.5 billion will be spent on food and delivery, $2 billion will be distributed as cash and food vouchers, and $1.1 billion will be spent across regional and global operations.
Earlier this month, the WFP provided a more comprehensive rundown of how it would split up the funds, in a reply to Musk’s original tweet, detailing how many millions of dollars in aid individual countries would receive. The WFP also publishes annual, audited financial reports that account for its spending.
So, is Elon Musk going to put his money where his mouth is and donate to the WFP?
Last week, the bombastic billionaire did sell over $6 billion worth of Tesla stock. The sale came days after Musk posted a poll on Twitter, asking his followers whether he should sell 10% of his Tesla holdings—framing the stock sale as a means to generate taxable income.
Twitter voted yes, and Musk sold stock. But, last Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosed filings that revealed the Tesla CEO had plans in place as early as September to offload a substantial portion of his holdings.
One likely reason Musk is selling stock now, having long hinted he would do so in the fourth quarter, is so he can raise funds to exercise stock options he was issued in 2012, which are about to expire.
Meanwhile, famed short-seller Michael Burry says Musk just wants to sell Tesla stock because the share price is overvalued. Musk said Tesla was overvalued last September, and its share price has surged roughly 150% since then—even with a 20% slump that began when Musk started selling shares last week.
But whether the WFP and the 42 million people the agency says are on the brink of famine will benefit from Musk’s massive capital gains is yet to be seen.
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