'I was prepared to accept either outcome,' said Musk, who regularly takes to Twitter to make unexpected announcements or surprising comments. His way of making his point was by asking his 62.9 million and growing Twitter followers in a poll whether he should sell 10 percent of his stock â€“ with a resounding 57.8 percent of votes for 'yes.' In what appeared to be a protest against the now stalled proposal, Musk wrote on Twitter that he doesn't get a cash salary so he would be forced to sell shares to pay any sizable levy. The controversy â€“ which pushed Tesla down about 3 percent by 5pm GMT â€“ started on Saturday with Musk targeting a push from US Democratic lawmakers to tax billionaires by targeting their stocks, which are usually taxed only when sold.

The episode, described by one analyst as 'another bizarre soap opera', is the most recent example of real world trouble following the often provocative tweets from one of the world's richest people.

Tesla's share price plunged on Monday in the latest controversy sparked by CEO Elon Musk, who was facing criticism for letting his Twitter followers decide whether he should sell billions in company stock.

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