Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) slumps as Elon Musk sells out $3.6bn of shares

LAGOS (CoinChapter.com) — Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) is having a bad year and a very bad December so far as the shares price of the electric car manufacturer hit its lowest level in more than two years.

According to data from Yahoo Finance, the value of Tesla shares is down 17% so far this month. Similarly, Tesla shares on the day traded down 4.2% to stand at $156.80, dropping the company’s market capitalization to $495 billion.

Notably, Tesla is one of the worst-performing stocks among major car makers and technology companies this year. Tesla shares have slumped 55% so far this year, lagging behind the performances of GM, Ford, Apple, and Amazon.

On Thursday the value of Tesla shares listed on the technology-heavy Nasdaq index in New York closed below $500 billion for the first time since 2020. Furthermore, at the end of last year the company was worth more than $1 trillion but its value has slumped in recent months.

Tesla has also been hit by recalls, as well as government probes of crashes and its autopilot feature. In fact, the company’s ticker page remains among the most visited on Yahoo Finance as fans of the brand grow increasingly antsy.

The stock drop has also led to Musk losing his status as the world’s richest person to LVMH Founder Bernard Arnault, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.

Elon Musk Sells $3.6 billion worth Of Tesla Stock

Amid the massive price drop in the value of Tesla stocks, Elon Musk has again sold another chunk of the electric car maker’s shares.

According to a filing with a US financial regulator, Musk sold about 22 million more Tesla shares, which is worth around $3.6 billion. The transactions took place between Monday and Wednesday this week according to the filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Notably, despite previously declaring that he had “no further TSLA sales planned”, the billionaire has gone ahead to sell much of his stake. The recent sale brings the total of Tesla stocks sold by Musk over the past year to almost $40 billion.

According to financial research firm VerityData, Musk has sold 94,202,321 shares so far this year at an average price of $243.46 per share for pre-tax proceeds of approximately $22.93 billion.

However, Musk remains Tesla’s biggest shareholder with a 13.4% stake, according to financial market data provider Refinitiv. The reason for the latest share sales has also not been disclosed.

Investors Slam Elon Musk For TSLA Sale

Meanwhile, Tesla investors have expressed displeasure with the billionaire’s recent actions labeling him as the reason the company shares have been on a downward spiral.

KoGuan Leo, the third largest individual shareholder of Tesla via his Twitter handle blasted Musk. He argued that Elon Musk’s interest in the company has dwindled since he completed the takeover of Twitter in October.

“Today, I just put in another $500 million on the line to support Tesla stock price @$160 whereas Elon sold $35B his shares and maybe more in last few days. Why he mocked me to be his fanboy who has supported him and Tesla since 2019 with $billions?”

KoGuan Leo said.

Popular investment advisor Ross Gerber also expressed his disapproval of Musk’s decision to sell more Tesla stocks. Another shareholder however called on the company’s board of directors to announce a buyback of stock in the best financial interest of the company.

Analysts have also pointed to several factors behind the stunning fall in Tesla’s once indestructible stock price. Firstly the risk of operational miscues at Tesla has grown as Elon Musk focuses on Twitter.

Other concerns remain around manufacturing issues and the pace of sales for Tesla in China amid an uncertain approach to COVID-19 policies. Also mentioned is the growing competition in the EV space in the United States.