Elon Musk has sold off another $3.6 billion in Tesla shares this week, bringing his total sales this year to nearly $40 billion.
According to a U.S securities filing, the Tesla CEO sold off 22 million shares of the world’s most valuable carmaker over three days, from Monday to Wednesday.
It is unclear if the sales are connected to Musk’s $44 billion purchase of Twitter in October, but this is the second large chunk of Tesla stock he has cashed out since then.
The stock sales have frustrated investors, as Tesla shares continue to remain at two-year lows and there is a perception that Musk is diverting his focus and resources away from Tesla to Twitter.
“It doesn’t put a lot of confidence in the business, or speak volumes for where his attention is at,” said Tony Sycamore, an analyst at brokerage IG Markets, where Tesla is a popular stock among small-time investors.
“It’s not a good situation. I’ve spoken to a lot of investors who have Tesla shares and they’re absolutely furious at Elon.”
Tesla Inc. and its CEO Elon Musk have yet to respond to a request for comment on the billionaire’s recent stock sales. Over the past year, Musk has sold off over $40 billion of his stake in the company, reducing his ownership of Tesla to 13.4%. This is a decrease from approximately 17% a year ago, according to Refinitiv data.
Tesla’s stock has mirrored its CEO’s losses, with the value of the stock falling by 50% this year. This is in comparison to other automakers and the Nasdaq, which have declined by 30% this year. Thursday morning saw a slight increase of 1% in Tesla stock.
It is yet to be seen if Musk’s stock sales will have a lasting negative impact on Tesla’s stock. However, the company and its CEO remain silent on the matter.
“It will start to be tiring for investors,” said Tareck Horchani, head of prime brokerage dealing at Maybank Securities in Singapore.
According to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Elon Musk has sold shares worth $2.3 billion in electric carmaker Tesla. The sale comes just over a month after Musk sold shares worth $4 billion in the days following the completion of his Twitter deal.
Tesla investor Ross Gerber, a strong supporter of Musk, suggested the company should announce a buy back to take advantage of the current low share price.
Musk’s fortune, largely tied up in Tesla shares, has decreased with prices this year and he temporarily lost his ranking as the world’s richest person last week – according to Forbes – when he was surpassed by Louis Vuitton CEO Bernard Arnault.
At the same time, Twitter has been suffering from a withdrawal of advertisers due to worries regarding Musk’s approach to policing tweets, resulting in a decline in revenues and its ability to pay interest on the $13 billion debt taken on for the deal. Additionally, investors are concerned that his controversial tweets could potentially damage the brand and sales of Tesla cars.
“Investors are concerned about demand, pricing, auto-GMs (gross margins) and Twitter distraction/overhang/impact on Tesla brand,” said RBC Capital Markets, slashing its price target by $100 to $225.
Tesla is facing a difficult market, with macroeconomic headwinds weighing on demand for its expensive cars. In order to boost sales, the company is offering discounts in both the United States and China, two of its biggest markets.
On Tuesday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented on the situation, saying, “Tesla will be great long-term, but doesn’t control macroeconomic tides.” He went on to explain that the company is doing its best to navigate the current market conditions.