Elon Musk is bumping up his investment in Tesla, informing the company he plans to buy another $20 million worth of the automaker’s stock in the next open trading window.
The Wednesday morning announcement was added to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission detailing Musk and Tesla’s settlement over his tweets regarding taking the company private.
While it’s not specifically called out, it appears Musk is reimbursing the company for its share of the fines that arose from the fallout from his “Funding Secured” tweet. As part of the settlement with the SEC, both Tesla and Musk will pay a $20 million penalty. (Musk is also prohibited from serving as chairman of the board at Tesla for three years.)
The $20 million will be added to the $9 billion Musk presently holds in Tesla stock. He controls over 33 million shares of the company at present. (It’s a drop in the bucket for the entrepreneur, whose fortune is estimated to be in the $23 billion range.)
It’s certainly a good time for Musk to buy. Tesla shares are down 14% year to date and down 22% in the past year.
Musk has blamed short sellers for the company’s stock woes.
“Short sellers are desperately pushing a narrative that will possibly result in Tesla’s destruction,” Musk said in a now notorious interview with the New York Times in August.
Earlier this month, he doubled down, mocking the SEC, calling it the “Shortseller Enrichment Commission.”