Elon Musk buys 2.5 million Tesla shares worth $1 billion, EV maker's stock jumps 7.3% — what we know

Elon Musk, the world's richest person and CEO of Tesla, has indirectly bought around $1 billion worth of the electric vehicle auto maker's shares through a trust on September 12, Bloomberg reported citing regulatory filings.

The filing showed 2.57 million shares were bought in open-market transactions, paying between $372.37 and $396.54 per share, Reuters reported.

Tesla shares jumped as much as 7.3 per cent before the start of regular trading, putting the stock on track to erase a year-to-date decline, BB added.

The billionaire's stock purchase coincided with Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm's interview with Bloomberg News about the merits of a $1 trillion pay package for Elon Musk, if the company achieves a series of ambitious milestones linked to market value and performance.

$1 trillion pay for Elon Musk? Tesla Chair says only he can lead…

Denholm on September 12 told BB News that only Elon Musk is capable of leading the company’s transition into AI and robotics, whether as CEO or in another seat. “He is a generational leader. There aren’t any other people out there like Elon who can actually lead the company over the next decade or so,” she stated.

Notably, the Tesla board this month unveiled an unprecedented pay package with Elon Musk potentially worth around $1 trillion.

The proposed compensation will be put to a shareholder vote in November. It includes milestones that he must hit to receive the full payout, including expanding the robotaxi business, delivering 20 million EVs and dramatically boosting Tesla’s market value.

On Elon Musk remaining involved with outside companies, Denholm said he has shown he can still produce results for Tesla. “It is how he’s delivered in the past. From our perspective, actually having his creative energies in various endeavours that are outside of Tesla actually helps Tesla.”

Tesla bets future on robotics, AI

Elon Musk has increasingly bet Tesla’s future on robotics, AI and driverless vehicles, with the CEO saying this month that Tesla could derive 80 per cent of its long-term value from the Optimus humanoid robot. Tesla is also working to expand its nascent robotaxi business while sales in its core EV business decline in many major markets around the world.

Demand has been hurt by Musk’s heavy involvement in the political sphere, including playing a role in President Donald Trump’s administration earlier this year. That damaged the company’s brand and generated a fierce consumer backlash, along with incidents of vandalism to Tesla showrooms.

(With inputs from Bloomberg, Reuters)