Elon Musk needs to come up with $21 billion in cash in order to complete his purchase of (the rest of the $44 billion deal is being financed with debt and a margin loan).
So on Thursday, Musk sold some of his stock in Tesla. A lot of it.
According to forms filed with the SEC Thursday evening and Friday morning, Musk sold billions of dollars worth of Tesla stock this week. Musk filed 8 forms with the SEC, totaling around $8.4 billion in sales, per a rough estimate. The sales began April 26, the day after Musk’s deal to acquire Twitter was announced.
Musk responded to another user on Twitter after the sales were disclosed, tweeting “No further TSLA sales planned after today.”
Now, it is possible that the sale of Tesla stock was unrelated to his purchase of Twitter, but with Musk needing to come up with cash ahead of the close under the terms of his financing agreement, it is reasonable to assume that at least some of the money earned from the sales will be going toward the social media company.
Assuming Musk closes the deal to buy Twitter, his plans for the service remain opaque. He told a conference that he wants it to be a haven for free speech, but also “maximally trusted” by all parts of society.
“Twitter has become kind of the de facto town square, so it is just really important that people have the reality and the perception that they are able to speak freely within the bounds of the law,” he said.
Updated 7 AM with additional stock sales.
