…
Elon Musk is highly known for a number of things, but he is best known for his role as CEO of the renowned electric car firm Tesla.
Just recently, Musk sold more than 22 million shares of Musk’s company for a total of about $3.6 billion.
The details were disclosed in a financial document that was made available to the public on Wednesday night.
According to paperwork submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the transactions happened this week between Monday and Wednesday.
Tesla
Before taking over the well-known social media network Twitter, Elon Musk had his hands full with Tesla and SpaceX.
On April 29, he tweeted the following to let his fans know about some changes to the electric vehicle manufacturer’s stock:
“No further TSLA sales planned after today.”
According to VerityData, a company that performs financial analysis, Musk has already sold 94,202,321 shares in 2022.
With a share price of $234.46 on average, pre-tax profits came to about $22.93 billion.
Sales
Ben Silverman, the research director of VerityData, said:
“Musk’s prior sales going back to November 2021 were expertly timed, so Tesla shareholders need to pay attention to Musk’s actions and not his words – or lack thereof when it comes to his recent selling.”
But Elon Musk persevered in trying to sell off some of his Tesla holdings.
After deciding to pay $44 billion for Twitter, the CEO resolved to sell a significant portion of his shares.
Musk bought Twitter in late October.
Read also: Donald Trump slumps in voter standing based on recent poll
Wealth
This week, Elon Musk lost his title as the wealthiest person in the world.
The CEO of the luxury goods firm LVMH, Bernard Arnault, has reportedly become the richest person in the world, according to Forbes and Bloomberg.
According to Refinitiv, a source of financial market statistics, he still holds the highest position in Tesla, with a 13.4% holding.
Musk said in November that he had sold 19.5 million Tesla shares for a total of $3.95 billion, only days after taking over Twitter.
The worth of the Tesla CEO has climbed to $174 billion, and Arnault’s wealth has increased to almost $191 billion.
Stock
Despite having a well-known brand in the sector, Tesla’s stock performance in 2022 was among the poorest among the most illustrious automakers and IT companies.
Investors worry that Musk’s acquisition of Twitter has taken up the majority of his time.
On Wednesday, the value of Tesla shares, which are traded on the New York Nasdaq index, closed under $500 billion.
The shares last experienced a similar decline in 2020.
Last year, Tesla’s worth was astoundingly above $1 trillion, but it has subsequently decreased in recent months.
Elon Musk completed seizing control of Twitter in October.
His focus and efforts are now solely on the social media platform.
By selling shares of Tesla, Musk was able to raise billions of dollars for the acquisition of Twitter.
The shares decreased as a result of the transactions.
The Twitter agreement was finally finalized after some back and forth between the firm and the CEO of Tesla.
Musk attempted to renege on the agreement during that time before deciding to purchase shares of his own company instead.
Some claim that Tesla’s stock price dropped as a result of the takeover’s distraction.
Investors are also concerned that there may be less demand for the company’s electric automobiles because of the weak economy.
Rising borrowing costs have discouraged customers and other companies from adding more electric vehicles to their lineups.
In addition to the problems already highlighted, Tesla has experienced issues with model autopilot, regulatory inquiries into crashes, and recalls.
Read also: Elon Musk vowed to end child exploitation on Twitter, workforce too thin
Other notes
All of 2022 has seen a decline in Tesla stock.
However, things significantly altered after Elon Musk took over as Twitter’s CEO.
On Wednesday, Tesla stock decreased 2.6% to close at $156.80.
As a result, the company’s market capitalization dropped to $495 billion.
As of Wednesday’s close, Tesla stock has also dropped by 55% year to date.
References:
Elon Musk sells another huge chunk of Tesla shares
Elon Musk sells $3.6 bn of shares in electric car maker Tesla
