Elon Musk unloads $8.4 billion of Tesla stock to finance Twitter takeover

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According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk sold around $8.4 billion worth of his shares in the company this week as he tries to line up the money to buy the micro-messaging service. The billionaire says he won't sell any more of his stock in the company.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Musk sold the majority of his shares. He sold another 5.2 million shares on Thursday, and no more TSLA sales are planned after today.

On Tuesday, the share price plummeted 12 percent, but has since rebounded. The stock was up on Friday.

On April 25th, the board of directors accepted Musk's offer of $54.20 per share for total control of the company. It was the same price he had offered on April 14th. The company will become a private company once the transaction is complete. The deal needs shareholder and regulatory approval.

In order to fund the deal, Musk has promised to secure $25.5 billion of fully committed debt, including $12.5 billion in loans against hisTesla stock. Musk doesn't list any partners who will share the cash burden. The CEO of the electric car maker has a 9 percent stake in the micro-blogging site.

Since Musk revealed his initial stake in the micro-messaging service, his electric car company's shares have lost 20 percent of their value.

There are so many important targets and milestones for the company over the next nine to twelve months, that it's not an ideal time for shareholders. He mentioned the Cybertruck, the new 4680 battery packs, the buildout of the Gigafactories in Germany and Texas, and the reopening of the company's factory in China.

It adds another variable to a jittery market.

Musk owns around 17 percent of the company's shares, or 175 million shares in total. Musk has sold a lot of shares before. He sold 15 million shares worth more than $16 billion after polling his followers. The carmaker's shares plummeted after two days of trading.

Tuesday's 12 percent drop was the worst day of decline since September 2020, when it lost 21 percent of its value, according to The New York Times. Musk has suggested that the share price is overvalued. The market cap of the company has moved past $1 trillion.

Other analysts said that the splitting of Musk's attention was a potential downside of his offer. Musk is also the CEO of Neuralink and the Boring Company.

Musk splitting his time with his other companies as a potential risk factor was cited in the company's most recent quarterly earnings report.