Elon Musk sells nearly $US7bn worth of Tesla stock

The billionaire had said just months earlier that he planned no further Tesla stock sales.

Elon Musk, who wants to walk away from his takeover bid for Twitter, sold nearly $US7bn worth of Tesla stock in recent days. Picture: Samuel Corum/AFP

Elon Musk sold nearly $US7bn ($A10bn) worth of Tesla stock in recent days, regulatory disclosures show, just months after saying he wasn’t planning to sell additional shares in the company.

Mr Musk, Tesla’s chief executive and largest shareholder, sold around 7.9 million shares between Friday and Tuesday, the disclosures show, leaving him with a 15 per cent stake in the company.

The Tesla boss has been on a selling spree over the past year, during which he has cashed out roughly $US32bn worth of shares in the electric-vehicle maker. That includes around $US8.5bn worth of sales in April, while Mr Musk was lining up financing for a $US44bn deal to take over Twitter. At the time, he tweeted: “No further TSLA sales planned after today.”

Neither Tesla nor Mr Musk responded to a request for comment. If the judge were to force Mr Musk to consummate the transaction, he could be on the hook for more than $US33bn in equity financing, according to a regulatory filing. He already owns more than 9 per cent of Twitter, worth roughly $US4bn at $US54.20 a share, Mr Musk’s buyout price.

Mr Musk, whose net worth totals around $US250bn according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, is compensated in stock awards and doesn’t accept a salary from Tesla. He had long been reluctant to sell shares in the company, which could weaken his control. Much of last year’s sales were designated to cover tax withholding obligations associated with exercising stock options.

Last week, Tesla shareholders cleared the way for a 3-for-1 stock split that the company has said is designed to make ownership more accessible to employees and individual investors. The split is due to take effect August 25 for shareholders of record on August 17, the company said last week.

The Wall Street Journal