Elon Musk sells another 22 million Tesla shares for $3.6 billion

Admin 2 January 2024

2 2 minutes read

Elon Musk just sold another 22 million Tesla shares, raising $3.6 billion.

Musk sold the shares on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week. The auction was disclosed in a checking along every SEC Wednesday night. Musk did not disclose the on-file reason for the sale. It’s his first sale of Tesla stock since early November, when he sold 19.5 million shares shortly after completing his Twitter acquirement Before Musk started buying Twitter, he rarely sold Tesla stock. Typically, his sale was tied to what he had to sell to pay the taxes owed upon exercise of the option.

But since Twitter first declared purchase plans in April, a total of $22.9 billion Tesla shares has been sold. This stock sale and the importance of his Twitter attention are worrying Tesla shareholders and analysts.

The Twitter nightmare continues as Elon Musk uses Tesla as an ATM to continue funding Twitter’s deficit, which is getting worse by the day as more advertisers exit the platform and the controversy with Musk behaviors,” wrote Dan Ives , an analyst at Wedbush Securities, in a note early Wednesday. “When will this all end? This remains a cause for concern in the Tesla story, as Musk managed to shift Tesla’s narrative from a story of basic electric vehicles to a “fundraiser” by funding a Twitter reversal that we believe is the most Musk’s sales this week represent nearly 5% of the Tesla shares he owned.

Also Read This: Infinix Note 30 Series – Full Specifications and Prices

Even with this last sale, he owns 423.6 million shares of Tesla stock through a trust he controls, valued at about $69 billion based on the average selling price the company received this week, and options to purchase nearly $279 million in additional shares worth almost $39 billion after paying the exercise price. After Tesla’s next budget announcement, there should be even more options early next year. But the value of these shares keeps falling. Tesla shares are down 55% this year. The crash in Tesla stock value is the main reason he recently lost the title of richest man in the world.

Ives said it’s possible Musk could use the revenue from Tesla’s stock sale to cover Twitter’s losses or to repay loans or other investors who funded the $44 billion purchase. He said it wasn’t good news for Twitter or Tesla. Ives said Tesla’s board of directors, made up of Musk fans, could impose some restrictions on him. “Musk is the heart and lungs of Tesla, but he’s only focused on Twitter, and that and the constant stock sell-off aren’t a good combination for Tesla,” Ives said. “While 20% of Tesla’s stock decline can be attributed to concerns about demand and growing competition from electric vehicles, 80% can be attributed to the company’s attention on Twitter. Twitter needs a different CEO than Musk.