Tesla CEO Elon Musk has sold nearly $4 billion (£3.2 billion) in Tesla stock, just days after agreeing to buy Twitter.
The sale has fueled speculation that it will help finance his $44 billion takeover of the social media platform. Mr Musk’s takeover offer was accepted by Twitter’s board of directors on Monday.
Tesla shares fell sharply earlier this week amid fears that Mr Musk would sell a portion of his stake in the company to fund the transaction. He did, however, state on Twitter that he has no plans to sell any more of his shares in the automaker. According to filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr Musk sold 4.4 million Tesla shares on Tuesday and Wednesday. In after-hours trading, the stock of the electric vehicle manufacturer fell 2.6 percent.
It was his first Tesla stock sale since selling $16.4 billion in stock in November and December of last year.
That came after he asked his more than 80 million Twitter followers if they thought he should sell 10% of his stake in Tesla.
Since Mr Musk announced earlier this month that he had purchased a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter, Tesla’s stock has dropped by around 20%. After the social media firm’s board accepted his takeover offer on Tuesday, the carmaker’s stock market value plummeted by more than $125 billion.
Mr Musk stated that he would contribute $21 billion of his personal assets to help finance the $44 billion deal.
Investors were worried that he would have to sell Tesla stock to fund the takeover.
Mr Musk is the world’s richest person, with an estimated net worth of nearly $250 billion, owing primarily to his Tesla stake. He also owns more than 40% of the rocket company SpaceX, which is valued at $100 billion.