- By JE News Desk
- Wed, 09 Nov 2022 09:35 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
TESLA Chief Executive Officer and Twitter's new owner Elon Musk sold 19.5 million Tesla shares worth about USD 3.95 billion, US securities filings showed on Tuesday. This came days after he completed the USD 44 billion takeovers of Twitter Inc.
Musk, the world's richest man, had about USD 20 billion in cash after selling a part of his stake in Tesla and would have been required to raise an additional USD 2 billion to USD 3 billion to finance the Twitter deal, as per the Reuters calculation.
Musk's net worth dropped below USD 200 billion as investors dumped Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) shares on fears the top executive and largest shareholder of the world's most valuable electric-vehicle maker is more preoccupied with Twitter, Reuters reported.
American billionaire took over Twitter last month on October 27 after closing YSD 44 billion deal. The Twitter deal began in April when Musk announced that he intended to buy the micro-blogging site. Since then he has been making headlines for his quick decisions, be it firing top executives including Indian origin Parag Agarwal or announcing charges for getting verified on Twitter.
He also announced monthly USD 8 for the verification badge. “Power to the people! Blue for USD 8 per month,” he tweeted, adding he said that the price is adjusted by country proportionate to purchasing power parity. This decision by Musk prompted outrage and disbelief among some longtime users.
Soon after taking charge on Twitter, he has been making headlines for his quick decisions, be it firing top executives including Indian origin Parag Agarwal or announcing charges for getting verified on Twitter. In May, Elon Musk tried to walk away alleging that Twitter understated the number of bot and spam accounts on the platform. This led to a series of lawsuits between the two parties.