Elon Musk bought $25 million worth of Tesla stock, just a day after laying off 9% of Tesla employees
- Elon Musk bought about $25 million worth of Tesla stock this week.
- His purchases come after Musk announced to Tesla employees that the company was cutting 9% of its workforce.
- It could be a signal to employees and Wall Street that he's still optimistic about the future of Tesla.
Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk has personally purchased about $25 million worth of stock in his own company, according to a filing with the SEC on Wednesday.
Before these purchases, Musk owned about 19.8% of the company, reports Marketwatch. With the 72,500 shares he bought this week, he owns about 34 million Tesla shares.
The timing of Musk's purchase is noteworthy: On Tuesday, Musk announced via an email to employees that Tesla plans to let go of 9% of its total workforce. The filing shows the purchases were made on Tuesday and Wednesday.
It's possible this was a strategic move on Musk's part to reaffirm to workers and critics alike that he's still optimistic about the future of the company - an important signal as Tesla works around the clock to hit crucial production targets of its next-generation Model 3 electric vehicle.
This wouldn't be the first time Musk has undertaken such a gambit. As recently as May, Musk spent about $10 million on Tesla shares as a counter to growing concerns over the company's ability to meet those targets.
Also of note is that Musk has a somewhat unconventional pay package at Tesla, where he'll be granted additional stock options as the company hits key milestones. Tesla's board of directors pegs the value of that package at about $2.6 billion over ten years.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.