Tesla CEO Elon Musk sold 19.5 million shares of his electric vehicle company for $3.95 billion on Tuesday, as reported by U.S. securities filings. The $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, which was completed recently, was the last big financial transaction of his career.
According to Reuters calculations, Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, had about $20 billion in cash after selling a portion of his Tesla shares and would have needed an additional $2-3 billion to finance the Twitter acquisition.
Analysts say Musk’s latest stock sale was broadly anticipated. Musk had previously stated that there would be no more share sales after he finished two stock sales in April and August.
Tesla has lost nearly half its market value and Musk’s net worth has declined by $70 billion since he attempted to purchase Twitter in April.
In a $44 billion deal a few days ago, Musk seized control of the social media platform Twitter and has since engaged in serious efforts including laying off half the workforce and charging for blue checkmarks.
Musk promised to provide $46.5 billion in equity and debt financing for the acquisition, which included the $44 billion purchase price and closing expenses. Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp were among the banks that provided $13 billion in debt financing.
The lawsuit occurred when the billionaire tried to back out of the deal in May, claiming that Twitter underreported the number of spam and bot accounts on the platform.
Reuters sought comments from Tesla and Twitter but did not get any.
