Elon Musk sells USD 3.58B worth of Tesla stock, purpose unknown
Detroit (AP): Elon Musk sold another USD 3.58 billion worth of Tesla stock this week, but it wasn't clear where the proceeds were being spent.
The Tesla CEO, and new owner of Twitter, sold the shares from Monday through Wednesday, according to a filing posted Wednesday night by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Musk has sold nearly USD 23 billion worth of Tesla stock since April, with much of the money likely going to help fund his USD 44 billion acquisition of Twitter.
The sale comes as shares of the electric vehicle and solar panel maker have collapsed, losing over half their value since Musk first disclosed in April that he was buying up Twitter stock.
The falling shares have bumped Musk from his status as the world's wealthiest person, with his net worth falling to USD 174 billion, according to Forbes.
He was passed last week by French fashion and cosmetics magnate Bernard Arnault.
The takeover of Twitter has not been smooth, and some big companies have halted advertising on the social media platform.
Musk has said that Twitter had "a massive drop in revenue" due to the advertiser losses.
Investors have been punishing Tesla stock of late as Musk has spent much of his time running Twitter, raising fears that he's distracted from the car company.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said Musk is now a villain in the eyes of Tesla investors. He said Tesla's fundamentals remain healthy but his behaviour with Twitter is hurting the company's brand.
"The Twitter overhang is a nightmare that is growing with no one but Musk to blame," Ives wrote in an email.
A message was left with Tesla on Wednesday night seeking comment on the stock sale.
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PM Modi holds talks with French President Macron in Mumbai
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held wide-ranging talks with French President Emmanuel Macron to boost ties in key sectors such as trade, defence, energy and critical technologies.
Macron landed in Mumbai early this morning on a three-day visit to attend the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi and meet PM Modi.
After the talks with Modi, Macron will attend a ceremony to launch the India-France Year of Innovation.
His visit comes days after India cleared a long-pending proposal to procure 114 Rafale fighter jets under a government-to-government framework with France.
It has been billed as one of the world's biggest military procurement programmes in recent years.
It is learnt that shoring up defence cooperation and enhancing bilateral engagement in the critical technology sector are priority areas to take forward the ties.
"Welcome to India! India looks forward to your visit and to advancing our bilateral ties to new heights. I am confident that our discussions will further strengthen cooperation across sectors and contribute to global progress," Modi said on social media earlier in the day in response to a post by Macron.
