Elon Musk continues to sell shares of his flagship company. The American businessman shed several billion dollars of Tesla shares between December 12 and 14, according to the latest statements from the SEC, the American stock market policeman. A sale of assets in progress since the takeover of Twitter and which is beginning to worry investors.
23 billion sold in a few weeks
Specifically, Elon Musk sold $3.6 billion worth of Tesla stock this week. An operation that illustrates the need for liquidity of the tireless CEO. Since the takeover of Twitter on October 26, four tranches of shares worth a total of nearly $ 23 billion have been sold by Musk, according to calculations by the FinancialTimes.
Last April, Elon Musk publicly promised that he would not sell any more Tesla shares. The latest transaction is the third sale since this announcement. The sale of 22 million shares in recent days has not, for the time being, been publicly justified by the person concerned.
Tesla down 20% over one month
Over the past month, the Tesla (TSLA) stock listed on the Nasdaq has fallen by almost 20%. A tumble that has damaged the ranking of Elon Musk among the greatest fortunes of the planet. According to a hierarchy established Tuesday, December 13 by Bloomberg, Elon Musk has just been dethroned from his status as the richest person in the world by the French Bernard Arnault. Musk’s personal fortune is said to have shrunk by more than $100 billion since the start of the year. The American billionaire remains in a good place, however, with a capital of more than 163.6 billion dollars.
In November, Elon Musk had already sold $3.95 billion worth of Tesla shares. Is this exit from the market intended to mop up the financing of the takeover of Twitter? No one is able to confirm this. To afford the social network, Musk has spent the tidy sum of 44 billion dollars. Moreover, the financial situation of Twitter is far from being in good shape. With the temporary disappearance of up to 85% of ad-related revenue, according to our colleagues at Electrek, the platform could have lost a lot of money in the operation.
“Elon abandoned Tesla“
The sales of Tesla shares in recent days should not fail to annoy the manufacturer’s shareholders a little more. For several weeks, investors have publicly questioned the management of the firm by Elon Musk. The billionaire is accused of paying more attention to Twitter than to his other businesses. “Elon ditched Tesla and Tesla doesn’t have a functioning CEO“, in particular criticized Leo KoGuan, a major shareholder of Tesla, on Twitter. And to add: “Are we just Elon’s silly bag holders? A performer, like Tim Cook, is needed.“
For his part, Musk tries to reassure by evoking the long-term profitability of Twitter. And to proclaim Wednesday, December 14: “I will make sure that Tesla shareholders benefit from Twitter in the long term.“