Elon Musk expresses regret over selling Tesla shares for Twitter deal

The CEO of Tesla had to sell some of the company's shares multiple times last year to finance the purchase of Twitter.

Elon Musk paid a hefty price of $44 billion to acquire control of Twitter on October 27th. He views the social network as a hub for trendsetters, decision makers, and influencers and considers himself to fit into these categories as well.

Twitter is often the starting point for discussions and news that become prevalent. Musk himself has contributed to this by sparking debates with his tweets, such as his proposal for a peace plan to end the war in Ukraine in October, which prompted reactions from various parties including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukraine's allies.

In November, he used Twitter to publicly criticize Apple for their 30% fee on in-app purchases, causing a controversy. However, the issue was resolved after a meeting was arranged between Musk and Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Musk disposed of a minimum of $30 billion worth of Tesla shares to buy Twitter

Musk's attachment to Twitter prompted him to initiate a takeover bid for the platform on April 25 after acquiring a 9% stake in the company. To finance the $44 billion acquisition, he was forced to sell a minimum of $30 billion worth of Tesla shares as he had no liquid assets.

The sales were recorded in regulatory filings, with approximately $8.5 billion in Tesla stock sold in April, $6.9 billion in August, $3.95 billion in November, and $3.6 billion in December.