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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Sonia Gandhi's attempt to launch Rahul from Raebareli will fail: Amit Shah
Hukkeri (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh after running away from Amethi and predicted that he will lose the polls there against the BJP candidate by a huge margin.
He also said former AICC President Sonia Gandhi's multiple attempts to "launch" Rahul Gandhi had failed and claimed that this was the twenty-first attempt.
The top BJP leader addressed a public meeting here in Belagavi district for party candidate from Chikkodi Lok Sabha segment Annasaheb Jolle.
"Modi ji tried and at once Chandrayaan (mission to Moon) got launched. Sonia Gandhi has launched this 'yaan' named Rahul Baba (Rahul Gandhi) twenty times, but her launching has not been successful. Today for the twenty-first time, running away from Amethi, he has filed nomination from Raebareli," Shah said.
He said, "Rahul Baba, I'm telling the result of Raebareli from here. Against BJP's candidate Dinesh Pratap Singh, you will lose by a huge margin. Write down my words."
Rahul Gandhi is contesting the elections from the Raebareli seat in Uttar Pradesh, the constituency held by his mother Sonia Gandhi for the last two decades.
Kishori Lal Sharma, a close aide of the Gandhi family, has been fielded from the Amethi Lok Sabha seat, the party said in a statement on Friday.
The two seats will go to polls on May 20 in the fifth of the seven-phase general election.
Ending days of suspense, the party announced the candidates from the two seats on Friday.
Raebareli is a constituency which had earlier elected Rahul Gandhi's mother Sonia Gandhi, his grandmother Indira Gandhi and his grandfather Feroze Gandhi.
The constituency has also been represented by family members and friends of the Gandhi-Nehru family.
Rahul Gandhi has also contested the ongoing Lok Sabha polls from Wayanad in Kerala which went to polls on April 26.
