Tesla Director Cashes Out Stock Options Worth 14 Billion Won

On March 30, Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson exercised stock options to acquire 40,000 common shares, then sold a significant portion on the open market, generating approximately $10.5 million (about KRW 14 billion) in cash. She continues to hold over 40,000 Tesla common shares, indicating that she monetized only part of the option proceeds and retained the remainder.

Earlier, on March 5, CFO Vaibhav Taneja acquired roughly 6,000 additional common shares through RSU vesting. To cover tax obligations, the company automatically sold a portion of those shares the following day, raising about $900,000 (around KRW 1.2 billion). In addition to his direct holdings, Taneja holds more than 110,000 Tesla shares indirectly through a trust.

Meanwhile, Tesla reported U.S. vehicle deliveries in March down by about 8% year-over-year, marking six consecutive months of decline. The company plans to focus its production capacity on models equipped with full self-driving capability and on its second-generation Roadster.

In March, Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI announced plans to build “TerraFab,” a large-scale joint semiconductor fabrication plant in Austin, Texas, dedicated to AI chip production—expanding Tesla’s business beyond electric vehicles into AI compute infrastructure.

Founded and led by Elon Musk, Tesla has grown around electric vehicles such as the Model 3 and Model Y, battery and energy storage solutions, and autonomous-driving software. Recently, the company has increased investments in new AI-based ventures—including robo-taxis, humanoid robots, and in-house AI semiconductors—as it seeks to evolve from a traditional automaker into a technology platform company.