Elon Musk sells around $7 billion worth of Tesla shares amid Twitter battle

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The move comes after Musk sold around $8.5 billion worth of shares in the electric carmaker in April as he was preparing to finance a deal with the social media giant.

Musk filed a countersuit against Twitter on July 29, escalating his legal fight against the social media company over his bid to walk away from the $44 billion purchase. (Reuters Archive)

Elon Musk has sold nearly $7 billion worth of Tesla shares, amid a high-stakes legal battle with Twitter over a $44 billion buyout deal.

The Tesla boss sold some 7.9 million shares between August 5 and 9, according to filings published on the Securities and Exchange Commission's website on Tuesday.

"In the (hopefully unlikely) event that Twitter forces this deal to close and some equity partners don't come through, it is important to avoid an emergency sale of Tesla stock," Musk, the world's richest man wrote on Twitter late Tuesday.

READ MORE: Elon Musk-Twitter saga, explained

Twitter is locked in a legal battle with the mercurial Tesla boss over his effort to walk away from the April agreement to buy the company, and a judge has ordered that a trial will begin in October.

Musk has filed a countersuit, accusing Twitter of fraud and alleging the social media platform misled him about key aspects of its business before he agreed to a $44 billion buyout.

The move comes after Musk sold around $8.5 billion worth of shares in the electric carmaker in April as he was preparing to finance the Twitter deal. He tweeted at the time: "No further TSLA sales planned after today."

READ MORE: Musk: Twitter deal should proceed if proof of real accounts are given

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Elon Musk sells 7.92 million Tesla shares worth $6.88 billion

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 02: Elon Musk attends The 2022 Met Gala Celebrating "In America: An Anthology of Fashion" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 02, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)

Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

Tesla CEO Elon Musk sold 7.92 million shares of Tesla worth around $6.88 billion, according to a series of financial filings published Tuesday night.

His transactions occurred between Aug. 5 and 9, the SEC filings revealed, following Tesla's 2022 annual shareholder meeting on Aug. 4 in Austin, Texas.

Earlier this year, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO said on social media that he had "no further TSLA sales planned" after April 28.

That week, SEC filings revealed Musk had been selling a block of shares in his electric car maker worth about about $8.4 billion.

The centi-billionaire is in the midst of a contentious legal battle with Twitter, the social networking giant he agreed to acquire in April for about $44 billion or $54.20 per share.

Read more about electric vehicles from CNBC Pro

Amid an overall market decline, Twitter's share price and the price of Tesla shares dropped. Musk said he was terminating the deal and accused Twitter of failing to give him all the information he needed to go ahead with the acquisition.

He also accused Twitter of understating the number of bots, spam and fake accounts on its platform.

By July 8, Musk told Twitter he was terminating the deal.

Twitter has sued to ensure the Musk deal goes through for the promised price, which would represent a windfall for many of its shareholders.

Tesla shares were trading nearly flat after hours on the news. Shares in Tesla closed at $850, down just over 2% for the day on Tuesday, before the CEO's insider sales were made public through SEC filings.

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