Elon Musk sold $8.5B in Tesla stock after agreeing to $44B Twitter deal

Musk boosted his cash position by raising $8.5 billion from the sale of part of his stake in the company.

The sales were made after the board agreed to the all-cash approach from Musk.

The electric car maker's share price fell in the wake of news of the deal, with the drop blamed on concerns about potential share sales by Musk to finance the acquisition, though it also came amid a sharp fall in the wider stock market.

After the first regulatory filings were published on Thursday, Musk wrote on his account that there would be no more TSLA sales after today.

Musk did not say when he would return to the market to raise more money or how long he would hold off selling any more stock. He has to come up with $21 billion in cash in order for the deal to close.

Under the terms of a settlement with securities regulators, any of Musk's messages that could have an impact on the stock price of the company must be approved by one of the company's lawyers. A judge this week denied Musk's request to overturn the settlement.

The sales of almost 9.7 million shares, made at prices ranging from $822 to $999 a share, were the first by the chief since a burst of selling late last year that raised more than $16 billion.

Some of last year's sales were caused by a large personal tax bill due to the exercise of Musk's stock options. He promised to sell part of his stake after conducting a poll on the internet about whether he should realize capital gains in order to pay more tax.

After a volatile week of trading, the shares ofTesla were up 4% on Friday morning to $918.72.

The deal for Twitter allows Musk to bring in other backers, potentially leaving him on the hook for only part of the $21 billion equity investment he has promised. He has yet to reach an agreement with any other investors despite discussions with private equity groups.

Musk has promised to put up part of his stake in the company as security for a loan that will be used to finance the acquisition of the company.

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