Elon Musk sold $6.9 billion in Tesla stock, claiming that the proceeds would be used to fund a Twitter deal if he lost a legal battle.
“If Twitter compels this deal to close and some equity partners don’t come through, it’s critical to avoid an emergency sale of Tesla stock,” he tweeted late Tuesday.
Musk canceled his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter in early July. Twitter sued Musk to force him to finish the acquisition, dismissing his argument that he was misled about spam accounts as buyer’s remorse after a tech market fall. The trial begins on October 17.
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives tweeted, “This poker move makes a Twitter transaction more likely.”
Musk also stated that if the Twitter transaction fails, he will repurchase Tesla stock.
Reuters didn’t immediately hear back from Tesla.
Musk sold $8.5 billion worth of Tesla shares in April and claimed no more sales were planned. Since then, lawyers have said that Musk might sell more Tesla shares if he is forced to finish the deal or settle the lawsuit with a heavy fine.
Musk sold 7.92 million shares from Aug. 5 to Aug. 9. Reuters estimates he holds 155.04 million Tesla shares, or 15% of the automaker.
Musk has sold $32 billion in Tesla stock in less than a year.
Tesla shares have climbed about 15% after the carmaker posted better-than-expected earnings on July 20. The Biden administration’s climate policy would lift the cap on electric vehicle tax credits.
Musk teased a social media platform on Tuesday. When asked on Twitter if he had considered launching his own platform, he replied, “X.com.”
