Current, former Tesla board members cash in on stock rally

[SAN FRANCISCO] Tesla board member Ira Ehrenpreis sold shares of the electric carmaker worth more than US$200 million on Wednesday (Oct 27), after the stock crossed the US$1,000 mark for the first time to hit a record, according to filings.

Antonio Gracias, a former Tesla board member whose term expired earlier this month, also filed his planned sale of US$610 million worth of shares on the same day, filings showed.

Tesla became the fifth company to hit the trillion-dollar benchmark on Monday (Oct 25) following a deal with rental car company Hertz and after it recorded its best quarterly revenue and profits.

Independent director Ehrenpreis exercised options to buy 370,000 shares at about US$50 each on Wednesday before their expiration in June next year, filings with the US Security and Exchange Commission showed.

The venture capitalist who has been a member of the Tesla board since May 2007 then sold 203,429 shares for as high as US$1,068.38 a pop. The shares are worth about US$214 million, according to Reuters' calculation.

Gracias, chief executive officer of private equity firm Valor, also filed plans to sell 338,493 shares worth US$351 million and an additional 250,000 shares worth US$259 million he holds indirectly via AJG Growth Fund, the filings showed.

He had been a member of the board since May 2007 before his term expired in October. Known as a close friend of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, he is a director of SpaceX and was a director of SolarCity until its acquisition by Tesla in 2016.

Current and ex-board members including Musk stand to reap windfall gains from Tesla's stock rallies, with a large number of stocks and stock options.

REUTERS