Tesla CEO Elon Musk is once again selling shares of his electric vehicle company, according to regulatory filings. As of Friday, the executive has sold 7.9 million shares, which amounts to about $6.9 billion. This is the first time Musk has sold shares in Tesla since April, when he sold 9.6 million shares worth about $8.5 billion.
Musk appears to be selling the stock to stock up on cash in case he’s forced to go ahead with his $44 billion Twitter acquisition. The director tweeted on Tuesday evening that he was done selling for the time being.
“In the (hopefully unlikely) event that Twitter forces this deal to close and some equity partners don’t get through, it’s important to avoid an emergency sale of Tesla stock,” tweeted Musk.
Last month, Musk told Twitter that he is canceling the deal because he believes the social media company was misleading in its bot calculations. Over the weekend, however, the director was a bit hesitant, tweet“If Twitter simply gives their method of sampling 100 accounts and how they are confirmed to be genuine, the deal should be on the original terms. However, if their SEC filings are found to be materially inaccurate, then they shouldn’t be.”
Musk also tweeted Tuesday evening that if the Twitter deal is not closed, he will buy back his shares. Maybe he’s waiting for Tesla to issue its three-for-one stock split, which Tesla shareholders approved last week, so he can buy them back cheaply.
In the past ten months, Musk has sold approximately $32 billion worth of shares in Tesla.
Tesla shares were down 2.44% today, but are trading relatively close to closing, suggesting that stock sales are not yet having an effect on Tesla’s share price. Tesla’s stock took a hit late last year when Musk sold more than $16 billion in sales after questioning his Twitter fans about whether to lower his stake, a move that landed him in hot water with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
This article has been updated with Elon Musk’s confirmation that the stock sales are related to his Twitter acquisition.