LONDON – Tesla CEO Elon Musk has sold $8.5 billion worth of shares in electric car maker Tesla, disclosures to the US Securities and Exchange Commission showed, in an operation likely to help fund his planned purchase of Twitter.
“There are no further plans to sell Tesla shares anymore,” Musk said in a tweet. He sold regarding 9.6 million shares last week, according to records on Thursday and Friday, equivalent to 5.6% of his stake in the company.
The sale took place following Musk reached a deal last Monday to buy Twitter for $44 billion in cash, in a deal that will shift control of the social media platform used by millions as well as world leaders into the hands of the world’s richest person. Musk’s net worth is $268 billion, according to Forbes magazine.
As part of the deal, Musk pledged to repay $21 billion of debt in the form of stock.
It is not yet clear how the billionaire will raise the remaining $12.5 billion. Musk owns a 43.61 percent stake in unlisted rocket company SpaceX, which is valued at $100 billion.
Tesla’s stock has fallen regarding 20% since Musk revealed that he had bought a more than 9% stake in Twitter on April 4.
A source familiar with the matter told Archyde.com that Musk is looking for partners to reduce his contribution to the deal, adding that it is not certain that such a partner will emerge.
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