I think your portrayal of stock ownership and control of companies is a little off. If Musk sells 10% of his Tesla shares, it is only 2% of the total market cap so he has not substantially change his power to direct the actions of the company. If Ford bought all 2% sold they would not be in a position to destabilize the company.

You say that the huge valuation that Tesla enjoys is the result of society rewarding the company for it contribution to society. If only that was so, the high valuation is more a result of greed and speculation. Tesla has made a positive contribution to the electrification of transportation but its share of the automobile market and the resulting reduction in emission don't justify its huge market capitalization.

I don't intend this as an attack on your story or Tesla, I respect your writing and I am happy for what Elon is doing if not always happy with how he does it. Tesla as a company and Musk as a billionaire is less predatory than say Bezos/Amazon, Zuckerberg/Metaverse, or Gates/Microsoft. Some billionaires made their fortunes buy swindling society and causing lasting damage. Musk, in my opinion, is not swindling. Musk is solving problems and creating new markets and what he does seem to foster competitors not suppress or absorb them.

I am not on Twitter, don't follow him, so I did not vote but I would have voted that he sell the shares. Why not, the sale causes more good than harm. It is better for society than him not selling the shares. The way Elon went about it is symptomatic of the things about Elon I dislike. The self-promotion and social media marketing, the cult of personality, I find it distasteful and sinful, not virtuous.

TEK