Elon Musk Buys $1 Billion in Tesla Shares, Boosting Stock Amid Strategic Push
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has purchased approximately $1 billion (£735 million) worth of Tesla shares, marking his first open-market stock purchase since 2020. The move, disclosed in a regulatory filing on Monday, sent Tesla’s stock soaring over 6% in early trading, signaling renewed investor confidence in the electric carmaker.
The buy involves roughly 2.5 million shares acquired on Friday and is widely viewed as a vote of confidence in Tesla at a time when the company faces slowing sales and mounting competition in the electric vehicle (EV) market.
Musk, who already owns about 13% of Tesla, has been pushing the company toward ambitious ventures, including robotaxis, automation, and artificial intelligence (AI). His latest purchase comes amid ongoing tensions over his stake in the firm and a high-profile compensation dispute.
Tesla’s board recently proposed a $1 trillion pay package that would grant Musk up to 12% of the company’s shares if certain performance milestones are met. Last month, the board also approved a separate $29 billion interim award, following the invalidation of a previous 2018 pay deal in court.
These proposals followed a heated back-and-forth with Musk, who at one point demanded a 25% ownership stake, threatening to leave Tesla entirely if his demands were not met.
Financial analyst Danni Hewson of AJ Bell said Musk’s latest purchase was a strong signal to investors:
“Markets like it when company leaders buy into their own firms because it shows they believe in the company’s future performance,” she said. However, Hewson noted that Musk could also have other motives, joking that his move may have been partly inspired by a desire to reclaim his title as the world’s richest person after Larry Ellison briefly overtook him.
The purchase comes during a challenging year for Tesla. EV demand has softened following the removal of U.S. tax incentives, while competition from rival automakers has intensified. Additionally, Tesla’s brand has been affected by Musk’s increasingly polarizing political involvement.
Musk, once a strong backer of former U.S. President Donald Trump, had a dramatic falling out with him earlier this year. More recently, Musk has drawn criticism in the UK and Europe for supporting far-right causes. On Saturday, he appeared via video link at a rally in London organized by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, warning of impending violence and urging attendees to “fight back or die.”
The UK government condemned Musk’s remarks, accusing him of using “dangerous and inflammatory language.”
In response to growing concerns, Tesla’s board said its latest compensation plan aims, in part, to ensure Musk’s political activity is scaled back. Robyn Denholm, Tesla’s board chair, told Bloomberg last week that while Musk’s personal political choices were his own, he remained “front and centre” in leading Tesla through a critical phase of transformation.
Despite the controversies, Denholm affirmed her support for Musk, calling him “the right CEO for Tesla over this transformative period of time.”
Tesla investors are now closely watching how Musk’s increased stake will shape the company’s strategy as it doubles down on innovation while navigating turbulent political and economic waters.
