Elon Musk dumped a further US$3.6bn worth of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares between Monday and Wednesday, with the money likely to help fund his US$44bn takeover of Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR).
Following this latest sale, of 22mln shares according to a US securities filing, Musk has now offloaded nearly US$40bn worth of Tesla stock this year, which has in turn suffered a 60% reduction in its value.
Investors have slammed chief executive Musk in return, accusing him of abandoning Tesla at a crucial time when global competition is growing and has its own difficulties.
US broker Wedbush, a Tesla uber bull, has called on Musk to end his “Twitter madness,” suggesting he was losing all credibility, dubbing the takeover a “debacle” and a “circus show”.
Tesla, meanwhile, has been forced to recall millions of vehicles across the world this year, after a host of technical issues requiring software updates.
Reports emerged last week that a consortium of banks was looking to provide Musk with new margin loans backed by Tesla stock a swap for some US$3bn of unsecured debt used in the Twitter purchase.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and Barclays were among the banks from which Musk borrowed US$13bn to fund the takeover.
When there are macroeconomic risks, it is generally wise to avoid using margin loans on any company, as stocks may move in ways that are decoupled from their long-term potential
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 9, 2022