Elon Musk loses N1.73tr after Tesla shares sale

…As investors react negatively

Elon Musk’s net-worth has fallen below the $200 billion mark after selling part of his shares owned in electric vehicle manufacturer, Tesla.

The wealth of the world’s richest man fell by -1.94 per cent to $197.4 billion, indicating the new Twitter owner lost N1.73 trillion ($3.9 billion) on Wednesday, as at the time of filing this report.

Musk recorded the loss seen in Forbes Billionaire Index following the sale of 19.5 million Tesla shares worth $4 billion, a corporate document filed with United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows.

The shares were sold since Musk and Twitter board completed the acquisition of the social media company.

However, following the filing of the document on Tuesday with SEC, investors reacted negatively to Tesla’s share by dumping stocks and distancing themselves from the equity in the stock market.

A share sale by a majority shareholder of a publicly listed company often scares minority investors to also dump shares out of fear that the stock might depreciate, affecting their investment value.

And coupled with Musk adding Twitter’s management to his already high responsibilities, investors might be discourage to hold Tesla’s share over fear that the affair of Twitter could overwhelm the billionaire, and make him reduce his attention to the production of electric vehicle.

After trading hours on Tuesday, Tesla’s share slumped to $191.30, depreciating by -2.93 per cent, down from the $197.08 the stock was valued at the close of Monday’s trading activities.

There are also fears that Musk’s Tesla share sales might not come to an end anytime soon, considering he has sold $20 billion worth of stocks so far this year.

In April, Musk sold shares of Tesla to take out about $8.4 billion, and another sell off followed in August, with the former PayPal co-founder withdrawing $6.9 billion.

Within the two months, Musk took out $15.4 billion in his Tesla investment, a move that was reportedly made to finance Twitter’s acquisition, which was completed on October 28, after a court ordered him to finalise it on or before that date or face trial.

Musk had promised not to sell another share after the August sale, but he has proceeded in another sale that might keep investors on the edge of their seat in expectation of Musk’s visit to the stock market again.