Elon Musk sells nearly $7 billion in Tesla shares to finance his Twitter deal.

Elon Musk, CEO of electric car maker Tesla, has sold about $7 billion worth of shares in the company. social media company.

The sale of 7.92 million Tesla shares began on Aug. 5, he revealed on Tuesday. securities reportThis is contrary to his previous statement that he would not sell additional shares to finance the deal with Twitter.

Musk signed a deal to acquire the social media company in April, but announced his intention to exit months later, citing concerns about accounting for fake users. His hesitation coincided with a sharp drop in the stocks of tech companies, including Tesla, the main source of his wealth.

Twitter sued Musk and forced him to enter into a contract through a contractual clause known as “specific performance.” A judge in the Chancery Court of Delaware will decide in October whether the acquisition should go through.

In a tweet on Tuesday, Mr. Musk said he had sold his shares. of Tesla stock. ” Musk is the richest man in the world, but much of his wealth is tied to his stake in electric car companies.he also said he would buy more on tuesday tesla stock If his deal to buy Twitter doesn’t go through.

In April, Musk sold Tesla shares for about $8.5 billion to secure transaction funding. There are no plans to sell in the future.

Twitter shares rose 2.8% in early trading, but are still well below the $54.20 a share Mr. Musk offered the company. Tesla’s stock price he was up less than 1%.

In May, Musk paid about $33.5 billion in cash to pay for the Twitter acquisition, combining about $13 billion in debt financing with his own money, outside investors and partnerships with other Twitter shareholders. Said to pay. He has already signed on to a list of Silicon Valley powerhouses, including venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and tech mogul Larry Ellison, with about $7.1 billion in the deal. Other backers include cryptocurrency companies, family offices, sovereign wealth funds, real estate companies and mutual fund companies.

Many of those who backed Musk’s bid were subpoenaed by Twitter in an increasingly bitter legal process.

Musk questions how Twitter accounts for the number of fake users. Twitter has defended its process, which he claims contains proprietary and confidential information.

In recent weeks, Twitter and Mr. Musk have squabbled over the details of the deal. Mr. Musk last week accused the social media company of being a “scam” and accused him of forcing a sale. Twitter chairman Bret Taylor called his claims “factually inaccurate, legally inadequate, and commercially irrelevant.”

At the same time, Musk appears to be more open about the possibility of a deal closing. At Tesla’s Investor Day last week, he talked about the changes he’s making when running Twitter.

On Saturday, he tweeted: “If Twitter only provides a way to sample 100 accounts and verify they’re real, the deal should go ahead on its original terms.”

Still, Mr. Musk seems intent on keeping multiple doors open. When asked on Twitter if he would create his own social platform if the deal doesn’t go through, he replied, “X.com.” Musk, who has an affinity for the letter “X,” said he wanted to create a rival service. Twitter cited that possibility as a reason to resist asking for confidential information about how Musk would describe the fake user.

Many legal analysts say Twitter’s argument is stronger than Musk’s, but the judge runs the risk that he may not comply, given Musk’s habit of disrespect. , questioning whether there is any willingness to order him to terminate the transaction. Legal restrictions.

The sale of his Tesla stake may allay those concerns, says Tulane Law School professor Anne M. Lipton.

“The sale makes it clear that he intends to honor the court’s order,” she said.