Elon Musk To Sell Tesla Shares Again, Just In Case He Loses In Court From Twitter

Elon Musk sells stake in Tesla just in case he loses to Twitter. (photo: doc. pixabay)

JAKARTA - Elon Musk, Tesla's Chief Executive Officer, sold his stake worth 6.9 billion US dollars (IDR 102 trillion) in the electric vehicle maker. He said the funds could be used to finance a Twitter acquisition deal if he loses a legal dispute with the social media platform.

"In the event that Twitter forces this deal to close and some equity partners don't succeed, then it's important to avoid an emergency sale of Tesla stock," he said in a tweet late Tuesday, August 9.

Shares of the microblogging site were up 3.5% to $44.35 in early trading, but still well below Musk's offering price of $54.20 per share. Tesla shares rose nearly 4% to $882.

Musk in early July canceled his April 25 agreement to buy Twitter for 44 billion (IDR 659 trillion). Twitter has sued Musk to force him to complete the transaction, dismissing his claim that he was misled about the number of spam accounts on the social media platform as buyers regret after the tech stock crash. The two sides will battle it out in court on October 17.

Following Tuesday's announcement of the stock sale, Musk took to Twitter and said "yes" when asked if he was done selling Tesla stock. He also added that he would buy it again if the Twitter deal didn't close.

Elimination of 'fire sale' risks, the fact Musk has raised money if Twitter's decision goes against him and comments that he will buy back shares if a Twitter deal is reached.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, while Twitter declined to comment on the report.

The stock sale came shortly after Musk said at the company's annual general meeting that Tesla was a "buying opportunity".

"The sale of (Tesla stock) of Elon over the past three days significantly increases the chances of the (Twitter) deal being completed, albeit at a slightly lower price of $5051/share," Gary Black, managing partner of Future Fund LLC, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Musk, the world's richest man, sold $8.5 billion worth of Tesla shares in April and he said at the time there were no plans for further sales.

But since then, legal experts have suggested that if Musk is forced to settle the acquisition or settle the dispute with severe penalties, then he will likely sell more Tesla shares.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said the possibility of Twitter getting a $5 billion to $10 billion settlement from Musk is starting to count towards the social media company's stock.

Musk alone sold about 7.92 million shares between August 5 and August 9, and now owns just under 15% of the automaker, according to Reuters calculations. The latest sale brings Musk's total share sale of Tesla to around $32 billion in just under a year.

Musk also teased last Tuesday that he could start his own social media platform. When asked by a Twitter user if he is thinking of creating his own platform if a deal is not reached, he replied: "X.com"

He also tweeted that Tesla would start shipping a longer and more expensive version of the battery-powered semi-commercial truck this year.

The 500-mile truck is estimated to cost $180,000, though it would qualify for a tax break of up to $40,000 under the US Senate-approved US electric car subsidy program.

Tesla shares have risen nearly 15% since the automaker reported better-than-expected earnings on July 20.