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Elon Musk sells another $6.9 billion of Tesla (TSLA) stock

Musk states that the sale is to avoid an emergency sale of stock if the Twitter deal closes.

Sam Chandler

August 9, 2022 9:15 PM

Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP/GETTY

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Elon Musk has sold another portion of his Tesla (TSLA) stock totalling $6.9 billion. This sale occurred last week across three separate days, according to reports. Musk now owns roughly 155 million shares of Tesla stock.

Noticed by Twitter user Sawyer Merritt and reported on by Hyunjoo Jin and Akriti Sharma of Reuters on August 9, 2022, Tesla has announced that its Chief Executive Office Elon Musk has sold some 7.7 million Tesla (TSLA) shares, earning him $6.9 billion. The sale of shares occurred on August 5, August 8, and August 9.

Musk has taken to Twitter to answer a question regarding the sale of his Tesla stock. “Yes,” Musk said when asked whether he had finished selling, adding: “In the (hopefully unlikely) event that Twitter forces this deal to close and some equity partners don’t come through, it is important to avoid an emergency sale of Tesla stock.” Musk also confirmed that he would buy Tesla stock again if the Twitter deal does not close.

For those playing catch up, Elon Musk has been embroiled in a lawsuit with Twitter after he withdrew from the $44 billion deal due to concerns regarding bot numbers. A judge has set an October date for the Twitter lawsuit. The social media platform has also blamed Musk-related dealings for its earnings results miss.

It would appear that the sale of Tesla stock is nothing more than Musk liquidating assets in the event he is forced to follow through on his word and purchase Twitter. Electrek reports that Musk still owns over 155 million TSLA shares, which is worth over $131 billion based on the $850 price per share at today’s market close. Enough to buy a couple of Twitters.

Based on the date of the sales, it would appear Musk sold his Tesla shares the day after the Tesla 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. It was during this meeting that shareholders approved a 3:1 stock split.

There continues to be a lot of movement when it comes to Elon Musk, Tesla, and Twitter. Make sure you check out the Shacknews topic pages on each of those for more information. What do you make of Musk’s Tesla share sales? Let us know in the Chatty thread below.

Sam Chandler

Guides Editor

Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as a Guides Editor. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can message him on X: @SamuelChandler