Elon Musk has purchased roughly $1 billion (£735m) worth of Tesla shares, marking his first open-market buy since 2020 and signaling renewed confidence in the electric carmaker. The move pushed Tesla’s stock up more than 6% in early Monday trading.
Musk, who already controls about 13% of Tesla, has been pressing for greater influence over the company as he champions investments in robotaxis, automation, and artificial intelligence. His share purchases about 2.5 million shares completed Friday come as Tesla grapples with falling sales, stiffer competition, and the loss of US tax breaks for EVs.
The board has proposed a $1 trillion compensation package that could lift Musk’s ownership by up to 12%, alongside a $29bn “interim” award announced last month after a 2018 pay deal was struck down in court. Musk has at times demanded a 25% stake, threatening to walk away entirely if not granted more control.
Danni Hewson of AJ Bell noted markets usually respond positively when leaders invest in their own firms but quipped that Musk may also be driven by rivalry, “An inventive and ungenerous interpretation is he saw the news about Larry Ellison becoming the world’s richest man and decided to juice Tesla stock a bit.”
Musk’s political activity has cast a shadow over Tesla’s brand. He publicly backed Donald Trump in the 2024 election before a bitter split, and he has since aligned with far-right figures in the UK and Germany. Over the weekend, the British government accused him of “dangerous and inflammatory language” after a video appearance at a London rally organised by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, where Musk warned the crowd, “Violence is coming, fight back or die.”
Tesla’s board insists the new pay plan is also meant to ensure Musk’s focus remains on the company, though Chair Robyn Denholm admitted last week that his politics are “up to him.” Still, she described him as “the right CEO for Tesla over this transformative period of time.”
