Tesla CEO Elon Musk invested roughly $1 billion in his company’s shares, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), causing the stock price to rise by six percent on Monday.
The filing shows that Musk, who also owns SpaceX and social media platform X, purchased 2.57 million Tesla shares last Friday at prices ranging from $371 to $396 per share.
The purchase coincides with Tesla unveiling a proposed compensation plan for Musk, which could be worth up to $1 trillion if the company achieves exceptional growth through new technologies. Tesla chair Robyn Denholm, a close Musk associate, has publicly defended the plan in several media interviews. “He is a generational leader,” Denholm told Bloomberg TV. “There aren’t any other people who can actually lead the company over the next decade like Elon.”
Under the plan, Musk could receive up to 12 percent in additional company shares if Tesla reaches a market capitalization of at least $8.5 trillion by 2035. A shareholder vote on the proposal is scheduled for November.
Tesla is also contesting a Delaware court ruling that struck down a 2018 pay package for Musk worth about $55.8 billion. The company’s current market capitalization is just over $1 trillion, lower than its peak due to weak earnings. Analysts have linked some of Tesla’s recent market declines to Musk’s political stances, which have attracted criticism and impacted sales in key markets.
