By
Bhushan Akolkar
April 25th, 2024
The latest Tesla shares sale by Elon Musk has been tipped to feature Twitter and the need for the billionaire investor to meet some credit obligations with which he financed the acquisition of the social media platform.
Elon Musk, the iconic Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of American electric automaker, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) has sold off another 20 million shares of the company with the accrued funds coming in at over $3.5 billion.
The sales of Tesla shares were revealed via a regulatory filing lodged with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The filing was published on Wednesday.
It comes after selling at least $4 billion worth of the share in November. As one of Tesla’s most significant shareholders and the world’s richest man, Elon Musk set out this year to consistently dump Tesla shares, a move that has continued to enervate the company’s investors.
The share sales by Elon Musk may appear erratic but research has shown that it is always properly timed. Musk reneged on his promises to halt share sales after April 28 this year, but he has made as much as 3 more share sales after he made the declaration to his followers at the time.
Per figures from VerityData, Elon Musk has sold a total of 94,202,321 shares so far this year at an average price of $243.46 per share for pre-tax proceeds of approximately $22.93 billion.
“Musk’s prior sales going back to November 2021 were expertly timed, so Tesla shareholders need to pay attention to Musk’s actions and not his words – or lack thereof when it comes to his recent selling,” said Ben Silverman, Director of research for VerityData.
Despite the latest share sale, Elon Musk still has a total of $66 billion worth of Tesla shares to his name. The company’s shares have been battered in the course of the economic strain experienced thus far this year. In the year-to-date period, TSLA has shed approximately 60.8% of its value. The stock is on track to print the worst performance this year.
Tesla Shares Sales and the Twitter Link
The latest Tesla shares sale by Elon Musk has been tipped to feature Twitter and the need for the billionaire investor to meet some credit obligations with which he financed the acquisition of the social media platform.
Tesla investors are increasingly getting worried about Musk’s involvement in both companies, and especially what seems like rubbing the automaker to pay the social media firm. Investors have called on Tesla to buy back some of the shares that are being offloaded in a bid to help cushion the freefall of the stock.
In response, Musk said in the company’s third-quarter earnings report that Tesla will start the buyback program next year. According to him, the buyback will range from $5 billion to $10 billion.
The share sales from Elon Musk have fueled a new slump in the price of the company’s stock dropping 2.58% to $156.80 as of Wednesday’s close. The shares fell by an additional 2.82% to $152.38 in the pre-Market.