Musk Answers Tesla’s Pay Proposal With $1 Billion Stock Buy

Elon Musk responded to an unprecedented pay proposal from Tesla Inc.’s board by buying about $1 billion worth of shares, sending the stock soaring in premarket trading.

The billionaire bought the shares indirectly through a revocable trust on Sept. 12, according to a regulatory filing released Monday. The purchases coincided with Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm speaking with reporters about the merits of awarding Musk upwards of $1 trillion worth of stock if the company achieves a series of ambitious market value and performance milestones.

Tesla shares jumped as much as 7.3% in premarket trading. If the gains carry over into the regular trading session, the stock will return to positive territory for 2025, having recovered from a 45% decline as of early April.

Musk, 54, last bought Tesla stock in the open market in February 2020, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. He offloaded more than $20 billion of the company’s shares in 2022, the year he acquired Twitter.

The purchase amounts to a show of confidence in Tesla’s prospects after a challenging first half of the year in which vehicle deliveries slumped 13% worldwide. While Musk has talked up Tesla’s pursuit of robotaxis and humanoid robots, he’s also cautioned that the company could be in for “a few rough quarters” after the US phases out electric-car purchase incentives at the end of this month.

Musk is the world’s richest person with a net worth of about $419 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.