Tesla CEO Elon Musk sold $6.9 billion worth of shares in the electric vehicle maker. He said the money could be used to fund a potential Twitter deal if he loses the legal battle with the social media platform.
“In the (hopefully unlikely) event that Twitter forces this deal to go through and some partners don’t get through, it’s important to avoid an emergency sale of Tesla stock,” he said in a Tweet.
Musk tore up his April 25 deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion in early July. Twitter has sued Musk to force him to complete the transaction. Musk claims he was misled about the number of spam accounts on the social media platform. According to Twitter, the collapse of shares of technology companies, including Tesla, is more likely to be the reason. The two parties will appear in court on October 17.
“Wall Street will read in this poker move that the chances of a Twitter deal are now more likely,” tweeted Dan Ives, an analyst at investment bank Wedbush Securities.
In other comments on Twitter on Tuesday, Musk said “yes” when asked if he was done selling Tesla stock. He also announced that he would buy Tesla shares again if the Twitter deal does not go through.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for comment.
Not the first time Musk has sold Tesla shares en masse
Musk, the world’s richest person, sold $8.5 billion worth of Tesla stock in April, saying no further sales were planned. But since then, legal experts had suggested that if Musk is forced to complete the Twitter takeover or settle the dispute with a hefty fine, he would likely sell more Tesla stock.
Musk sold about 7.92 million shares between Aug. 5 and Aug. 9, according to multiple stock market documents. He now owns 155.04 million Tesla shares or just under 15 percent of the automaker according to Reuters calculations.
The latest sale brings Musk’s total sales of Tesla stock to about $32 billion in less than a year.
Tesla shares are up nearly 15 percent since the automaker reported better-than-expected earnings on July 20, also helped by the Biden administration’s bill that, if passed, would lift the cap on tax breaks for electric vehicles.
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