Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has sold 19.5 million shares of the automaker worth nearly $4 billion between Nov. 4 and Nov. 8, according to filings made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Not Unexpected: The sale of Tesla takes place soon after Musk took over Twitter on Oct. 28, in a $44 billion deal.
The billionaire entrepreneur has previously stated that he and other investors have overpaid for the platform but has cited the company’s “long-term potential.”
The acquisition of the Jack Dorsey-co-founded platform was funded by Musk’s own capital, alongside other investors such as Binance, Andreessen Horowitz, and Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia.
The sale of Tesla shares is not unexpected. After the Twitter deal was revived in late October it was reported that Musk could sell about $5 billion of his Tesla shares.
Gary Black, the managing partner at Future Fund, had pointed out that once the trading window for Tesla insiders opened after the company’s third-quarter results — a sale was expected.
Black had at the time said that Musk was trying to raise equity financing for the Twitter deal so that he doesn’t have to sell shares at depressed levels.
Stock Struggles: On Tuesday, Tesla shares dropped to as low as $186.75 — plunging below the psychologically important $200 mark. Musk’s recent Twitter acquisition is generating uncertainty over his commitments at Tesla, according to a prior report.
Investors are also worried about Tuesday’s midterm polls where potential wins by Republicans in the Senate and House could come in the way of President Joe Biden’s clean energy policies, of which Tesla is a beneficiary.
Charting Trouble: Television presenter Jim Cramer said on CNBC’s “Mad Money Lightning Round” on Tuesday that Tesla has “got the worst chart I've ever seen, and that's what's driving things.”
Despite the bearish chart, the company’s relative strength index of 27 indicates an uptick is probable. RSI is a technical indicator that traders use to gauge bullish and bearish price momentum.
Tesla Price Action: Tesla shares closed at $191.30, down 2.9%, intraday on Tuesday, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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