Recently, according to media reports, Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently claimed in response to US Senator Elizabeth Warren's criticism of his tax payment issues, "Just open your eyes for 2 seconds to know that I will pay more taxes this year than any American in history."
Forbes estimates that Musk is expected to pay more than $8.2 billion in taxes on the shares he sells in 2021.
But Musk will eventually have to pay far more than the $8.2 billion in taxes, and it is understood that although he moved from California to the current state of Texas in 2020, California may tax the options he gets while living there.
According to Tesla's latest proxy statement to the SEC, Musk has about 22.9 million options that expire next year.
The options entitle Musk to buy Tesla's stock at $6.24 per share, and he would receive about $22.2 billion at a closing price of about $976 per share on Wednesday.
If California taxes him, Musk will have to pay about $2.9 billion at a maximum rate of 13.3 percent, plus a 3.8 percent net investment income tax (about $842 million) paid to the federal government, and Musk's total tax bill this year will reach $12 billion.
