Elon Musk buys Tesla shares worth $1 billion! Stock surges in pre-market trading; 2.5 million shares bought

Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk purchased about more than 2.5 million shares worth $1 billion, according to a regulatory filing, reported news agency AP.

The billionaire bought the stock indirectly through a trust on September 12, the filing showed.

Tesla shares jumped as much as 7.3% before the start of regular trading, putting the stock on track to erase a year-to-date decline.

The purchases come shortly after Tesla unveiled a proposed pay package for Musk earlier this month that could potentially make him the world’s first trillion-dollar executive.

The package, if approved by shareholders at Tesla’s annual meeting on November 6, would grant Musk shares equivalent to as much as 12% of the company in 12 separate tranches, contingent on meeting ambitious performance targets, according to AP. These include major increases in vehicle production, operating profit, and Tesla’s market value. The plan is structured entirely in stock, not cash.

To unlock the first tranche, equivalent to 1% of Tesla, Musk would need to push the company’s valuation to $2 trillion—roughly double its current market worth—while achieving other milestones. Realizing the full package and potentially becoming the world’s first trillion-dollar executive would require Tesla’s market capitalization to climb to $8.5 trillion, more than twice that of the world’s current most valuable company, Nvidia.

Tesla has faced a challenging year, with declining sales partly attributed to backlash over Musk’s affiliation with former US President Donald Trump, and increasing competition from Detroit automakers as well as Chinese EV manufacturers. Investors have also expressed concern over Musk’s extensive involvement in Washington earlier this year, where he took a prominent role in the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the federal government’s size.

The shareholder vote on Musk’s proposed pay package on November 6 will determine whether the CEO can begin collecting shares under the ambitious new compensation plan.