Elon Musk has sold Tesla shares worth approximately $3.95 billion. According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the billionaire sold 19.5 million shares of the electric-car-producing company between Friday and Tuesday, one week after finalising his $44 billion purchase of Twitter.
According to a Reuters calculation, Musk now owns about 14% of Tesla following the most recent share sale. Although the reason for the transaction is unknown, this is not the first time the billionaire has sold Tesla shares.
In 2021 alone, Elon Musk sold Tesla shares valued at around $22 billion, but that was not all. After publicly announcing his intention to buy Twitter in April, he sold more than $8 billion worth of stock. Reports claim that Tesla lost over half of its market value and that Musk’s net worth has fallen by $70 billion made a bid for Twitter.
In August, he sold Tesla shares again for $6.9 billion, claiming that he did so in case he had to proceed with the Twitter deal. However, he informed his followers in a tweet that month that he had stopped selling Tesla shares to pay for the Twitter acquisition.
In the (hopefully unlikely) events that Twitter forces this deal to close and some equity partners don’t come through, it is important to avoid an emergency sale of Tesla stock.
Read Also: Finally, Elon Musk buys Twitter for $44bn, fires CEO and CFO
The painstaking journey of acquiring Twitter
If you recall, after announcing his intention to buy Twitter for $44 billion in April, Elon Musk tried to back out of the agreement in August, claiming the microblogging site was not entirely transparent.
He said he was cancelling the contract because Twitter had misled him over the number of fake “bot” accounts, allegations rejected by the company. In response, Twitter launched a lawsuit demanding that the billionaire must take part in the takeover agreement.
This led to Elon outsourcing funding assistance far and wide. For the acquisition, the billionaire promised to provide $46.5 billion in equity and debt financing, which would pay for the transaction’s $44 billion price tag and closing charges. Major financial institutions pledged to offer $13 billion in debt financing. There were also pledges from equity and private investors.
After completing the purchase, Musk began making drastic changes in the company. He fired roughly 50% of the company’s employees, including many top executives. Significant changes are now starting to be implemented, such as the $8 monthly subscription cost for verification status, which many people have opposed.
According to Mass Live, the microblogging site has lost over 1 million users since the new Chief Twit took over.
Read also: Global roundup: Tesla recalls 54,000 vehicles over self-driving software issues.
Will Tesla shares drop further, and will Elon Musk sell more shares
Tesla’s stock declined dramatically on Monday morning, dropping 5% to its lowest level in 18 months. According to a report, this could be due to COVID-related concerns and the fact that China, one of its most productive facilities, is subject to tight COVID-19 restrictions, which hurt output.
Elon Musk may also need to sell more Tesla shares in the future if he needs to raise quick funds. It was obvious that Musk used debt to purchase Twitter, and the investment returns would need to come from the company’s earnings or other sources.
However, several companies have suspended Twitter advertising due to recent changes. Due to declining cash flow, Elon Musk might have to dig into his own pockets, which are his shares for funding. This may eventually impact the price of Tesla shares as well.
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