Elon Musk buys $10M in Tesla shares, eyes $20M more
Former SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt on the allegations against Tesla.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk acquired nearly $10 million worth of the electric-car maker’s stock, according to a filing on Tuesday.
Musk, who made the purchase on the open market Monday, scooped up almost 30,000 shares to increase his ownership stake in Tesla to about 20 percent. He is Tesla’s largest shareholder.
Earlier this month, Tesla said Musk planned to buy an additional $20 million in shares in a direct transaction with the company. That share purchase is expected to close by next week, Tesla said in its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday.
The pending $20 million transaction was revealed in an Oct. 16 filing related to a federal court’s approval of a settlement between Musk and the SEC.
The agency accused Musk of misleading investors when he tweeted in August that he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private. He later abandoned the plan, but the initial announcement sparked a rally in Tesla’s stock price. Tesla and Musk agreed to pay $20 million each to settle the SEC’s charges. Musk also must give up his role as chairman of the company.
Tesla shares were down about 2 percent in Tuesday trading. The stock is up more than 5 percent since the start of the year.