Elon Musk's US$3.95 billion sale of Tesla Inc. stock prolongs a rough period for investors in the electric carmaker, whose market value has dropped by more than 50 per cent in the past year after becoming tied to the twists and turns of Musk's Twitter Inc. buyout.
While the Tesla chief has repeatedly said he's done selling the shares, the latest sale brings total proceeds to about US$36 billion. Musk began unwinding his holding a year ago, when his Twitter followers backed him trimming his stake in response to a poll. He still owns about 14 per cent, according to Bloomberg data.
Tesla has declined for three straight months and November is proving even worse, with the shares falling 16 per cent so far and plumbing a 17-month low. Its Relative Strength Index is back in oversold territory, and the stock has lost US$600 billion in market capitalization since peaking last November.Tesla shares are extremely volatile with a high number of five per cent moves.