Elon Musk's Twitter agreement contains billions of dollars in personal debt. If things goes wrong, Tesla stockholders may suffer and Twitter's financial health may be jeopardized. There are already indications that investors are concerned. Tesla's stock has become widely owned by retail investors through mutual funds and other investment vehicles as the company has grown to become one of the world's most valuable corporations. However, it has dropped 24% since Musk said early last month that he had purchased a significant interest in Twitter, during which time the S&P 500 has dropped 10%.
Elon Musk has shown that he can simultaneously grow two enormous, successful businesses: Tesla sells far more electric vehicles than any competitor, and SpaceX is a top rocket company, despite some setbacks. He may also be able to increase Twitter's popularity and profitability. Despite the fact that Musk and his partners are committing over $20 billion in cash to buy Twitter, he also plans to obtain funds by taking out a $6.25 billion loan secured by Tesla stock, down from a previous estimate of $12.5 billion.
Elon Musk photographed at the SpaceX facility in 2018 for launch day, which was the first private company to launch a spacecraft into the atmosphere.
If Tesla's stock price falls, the debt to buy Twitter might become a destabilizing influence. Analysts do not expect Tesla's stock to crash because its business is doing well. Teslas accounted for 75% of all electric automobiles sold in the United States in the first three months of 2022. Traditional carmakers such as Ford, Hyundai, and Kia have just begun to manufacture enticing electric vehicles, and most analysts predict Tesla's market share to decline. However, this has not yet occurred. Tesla, on the other hand, increased its market share from a year ago in the first quarter.
According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Elon Musk sold nearly $8.4 billion worth of Tesla shares this week, after his proposal to take Twitter private. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO sold nearly 4.4 million shares of his electric vehicle company in exchanges. On Friday, new documents revealed that an additional 5.2 million shares were sold on Thursday.
Tesla Continues Expansion
Tesla is now experiencing explosive expansion. The electric vehicle manufacturer has opened two new factories in Austin, Texas, and Grunheide, Germany. And just a few months after the factory opened, Giga Berlin is already trying to expand with a new property purchase adjacent to the current plant.
Tesla also just announced the construction of a new factory near Giga Shanghai that will be capable of producing 450,000 vehicles per year. Tesla is also planning to raise production capacity at its Fremont, California factory by up to 50 percent.
Tesla employs 110,000 people directly and over 500,000 indirectly, according to Elon Musk. Tesla, on the other hand, will need to raise its personnel even more in order to meet its ambitious expansion objectives. Most firms would find attracting skilled personnel on this scale unfeasible; nevertheless, thanks to Tesla's charismatic CEO, the EV producer does not appear to be confronting a labor problem.
Tesla said in its impact report that it received 3 million employment applications in 2021. Tesla boosted its employment by 30,000 people in 2021, which implies that for every open position, the EV company received 100 applicants. This is a huge advantage for Tesla, which may thank its CEO, Elon Musk. Unlike most firm founders, Musk is motivated by addressing basic societal challenges that will benefit society as a whole, rather than by financial gain.
Tesla's mission statement, for example, is transitioning the globe to sustainable energy, while Musk's other business, SpaceX, aspires to make humans a multi-planetary species. As a result, Tesla is able to attract some of the world's brightest, most passionate, and dedicated people.
