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Tesla boss Elon Musk disclosed another $3.6 billion in stock sales on Wednesday, taking his total near $40 billion this year and frustrating investors as the company's shares wallow at two-year lows. A U.S. securities filing showed he unloaded 22 million shares in the world's most valuable carmaker over three days from Monday to Wednesday.
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It brings the total of Tesla stocks sold by Musk over the past year to almost $40B. He remains Tesla's biggest shareholder with a 13.4% stake, according to financial market data provider Refinitiv. Last month Musk revealed that he had sold 19.5 million shares of Tesla worth $3.95B, just days after completing a $44B takeover of social media platform Twitter.
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Tesla is one of the worst-performing stocks among major car makers and technology companies this year. Its shares have been under immense pressure the past few days, with numbers down nearly 13% since the start of the week.
Why it matters
It isn't clear if the sales are related to the Twitter acquisition, but they are impacting investors who are upset by a perception he is diverting his focus and resources to Twitter ahead of Tesla. Goldman analyst Mark Delaney weighed in on the Twitter distraction, writing that Musk’s increased presence at Twitter and foray into political topics has resulted in Tesla’s brand becoming “more polarizing.”
