Tesla boss Elon Musk has sold shares in the electric car manufacturer worth $ 6.9 billion (6.74 billion euros). According to multiple filings, he sold approximately 7.92 million shares between August 5 and 9. According to Reuters calculations, he now owns nearly 15 percent of the automaker. The money could be used to fund a potential Twitter takeover if he loses the legal battle with the social media platform, he explained.
“In the (hopefully unlikely) event that Twitter forces this deal to close and some equity partners don’t go along, it’s important to avoid a fire sale of Tesla stock,” he wrote in a tweet late Tuesday night. No further sales are planned.
$32 billion in stock sales
With the most recent sales, Musk has sold a total of about $32 billion worth of Tesla stock in less than a year. Most recently, in April, he had sold Tesla stock worth $8.5 billion and said at the time that no further sales were planned. “Wall Street will see from this poker move that the chances of a Twitter deal are now higher,” tweeted Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities.
Musk canceled a deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion in July. The reason he gave was that Twitter had cheated him about the number of fake accounts on the social media platform. Twitter then sued the Tesla boss to force him to complete the transaction. The two parties will appear in court on October 17.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
