Tesla stock takes very mild downturn as Musk sells $4 billion worth of stock
Tesla has proven itself to be an extremely unusual force to be reckoned with not only by way of the disruptive influence it has had on the traditional motor industry which is suddenly rallying to transition from internal combustion to electric power, but also on the world of large corporate industry.
As recently as 10 years ago, most motorists worldwide would have continued their long-held belief that electric cars are awful contraptions and that there is nothing like a powerful internal combustion engine to reinforce the fun and experience of car ownership and the driving experience, and motoring groups and media mocked the gormless 'milk float' stature of the attempts to go electric that had gone before.
Suddenly from outside the car industry came Tesla, with no heritage and no 120 years of automotive pedigree and took the world by storm.
Now, Tesla has ten times the market capitalization of Ford Motor Company and is considered to be among America's 'big tech' band of commercial giants such as Amazon and Google.
Yesterday, CEO Elon Musk sold $4 billion worth of Tesla stock. That is a lot of money. It is also a big move by a CEO who is well known for his self-starting, 'my way or the highway' approach to running businesses and influencing entire market sectors and industries.
Surely if Elon Musk cashes out to such a degree, the direction of the company may be diluted and it would take a downturn?
Not really. Yes, the stock has decreased in value slightly but not by very much at all.
Today, Tesla stock is down 2% to 1.91, however when looking over the 5 day period, it is down an unbelievable 34%, so perhaps Elon Musk is cashing out at a time during which the firm's stock is crashing in value over a longer period of time.
Perhaps Tesla has made its point, and now with the rental car fleets, taxi companies and lease market totally flooded with the Model 3, it is no longer considered a novelty, especially considering that the traditional car manufacturers are making arguably much better electric cars. Porsche is selling more fully electric Taycans than all of its other models, and today Volvo launches its fully electric SUV the EX90. BMW and Mercedes Benz have gone fully electric across the range, and the Audi e-Tron is universally popular.
Elon Musk is a savvy investor as much as he is a savvy innovator.
Perhaps he is pulling some capital to safety at a time during which Tesla stock is declining and he has long since made his point.