On January 1st 2021 Cousin Eddies Shoes grants employees options to purchase 20,000 shares of common stock. The stock options vest on December 31, 2022. On January 1st 2021, the stock price was $25 per share, the fair value of the options was $4 each, the par value of the common stock was $1 per share, and the strike price of the options was $25. On 12/31/2022, when the market price of the stock is $35 per share, 10,000 of the options are exercised. The amount of stock option expense for the year ended 12/31/22 is

The correct answer should be $40,000!