Musk sells nearly $4 billion of Tesla shares, personal wealth now below $200 billion: report

New Twitter owner has sold more than $19 billion in shares of his electric car company since April, reportedly to fund his share of $44 billion Twitter purchase.

By Greg Piper

Published: November 9, 2022 7:38am

Updated: November 9, 2022 8:04am

Elon Musk is dipping into his electric car company to pay for his share of the $44 billion Twitter purchase, according to reports.

He sold another $3.95 billion of Tesla shares Nov. 4-8, the Associated Press reported from regulatory filings, following up the $7 billion he sold in August as he tried to exit the Twitter deal on allegations of fraudulent account figures. He's now sold more than $19 billion of Tesla shares since April, when he started the Twitter deal.

Forbes reported this was the first time Musk's personal wealth, which is tied up in Tesla, has dipped below $200 billion since May 24. It also happened Oct. 1, 2021. Tesla shares closed at a 52-week low Tuesday at $191.30.

Musk still owns 14% of the company, or closer to 23% including his "exercisable options," according to Forbes. It estimated he still needed $5.6 billion to complete the Twitter purchase when he sold the latest shares.