Elon Musk, who struck a deal to acquire Twitter for $44 billion, has sold about $8.5bn worth of Tesla shares in an apparent move to begin funding his buyout of the microblogging platform.
The world's richest person offloaded about 9.6 million shares of the electric vehicle maker this week, according to regulatory filings made with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Mr Musk offloaded about 4.4 million shares of his electric vehicle company on Tuesday and Wednesday. The latest Friday filings showed sales of an additional 5.2 million shares on Thursday.
“No further TSLA sales planned after today," Mr Musk said on Twitter.
Mr Musk personally guaranteed $21bn of the equity portion of his acquisition of Twitter, which was announced on April 25.
Analysts and Tesla investors have long believed that he would need to sell more Tesla shares to cover this amount.
A further $12.5bn of the Twitter deal is secured by his stake in Tesla. The transaction is expected to be finalised in 2022.
Mr Musk began offloading Tesla shares late last year as part of a pledge to sell 10 per cent, or about 17 million shares, of his stock in the EV maker.
However, Thursday's revelation is different and could rattle Tesla's shareholders, most of which are retail investors.
The EV maker's valuation dropped by $126bn on Tuesday after its share price fell 12 per cent — the most since September 2020 — on the speculation that Mr Musk may sell shares to complete his Twitter takeover.
“It is a brutal cycle for Tesla investors to navigate and casts a shadow on the name, with Mr Musk selling more stock,” said Dan Ives, managing director of Los Angeles-based Wedbush Securities.
“The Twitter deal is becoming an albatross for Tesla’s stock and this pours gasoline on the raging fire.”
Mr Musk made his surprise bid to buy Twitter on April 14, shortly after he quietly bought shares in the company and declined a seat on its board of directors.
Twitter tried to thwart the takeover bid by adopting a limited-duration shareholder rights' plan, which would enable its shareholders to buy additional stock, otherwise known as a “poison pill” strategy.
The Twitter deal is becoming an albatross for Tesla’s stock and this pours gasoline on the raging fire
Daniel Ives,
managing director of Wedbush Securities
A proponent of free speech and prolific tweeter, Mr Musk said he wanted to buy social media platform so that he could introduce several reforms.
Some of the pledges he made were to promote free speech, open up Twitter's algorithms to the public and add an “edit” button, which is now being tested by the microblogging platform.
However, Mr Musk has yet to give concrete details on his plans to bring about these changes.
Critics are concerned that Twitter might turn into a battleground for unfiltered content and prove to be a challenge for regulators, who already have their hands full as they try to regulate content — disinformation and harmful posts, in particular — on the internet.
Last week, the EU approved a law to regulate online content on platforms owned by big technology companies, which face billions of dollars in fines if they do not comply.
There is also the issue of user verification, which is used by Twitter to denote a real account through the placement of a blue tick next to the account user's name.
Current Twitter rules stipulate that a user can receive a blue tick if they provide links to an official website, provide a photo of a valid official government-issued identification document or an official email address.
Mr Musk said on Tuesday that he would ensure all users are human, a reference to another of his pledges to combat bots on the platform.
“I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots and authenticating all humans,” he said, without providing specifics.
The acquisition also triggered a firestorm, with several politicians taking sides and reactions ranging from “encouraging” to “dangerous".
Mr Musk was worth about $252bn on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as of Friday.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
more from Janine di Giovanni
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Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Specs
Price, base: Dhs850,000
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 591bhp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.3L / 100km
Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
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