In recent weeks, as Tesla’s stock has declined, several board members and an executive at Elon Musk’s company have sold millions of dollars worth of shares, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Since early February, four top Tesla officials have collectively sold over $100 million in stock.
Most recently, James Murdoch—an ally of Musk, board member since 2017, and the estranged son of Fox chief Rupert Murdoch—became the latest to sell shares. On March 10, he exercised a stock option and sold approximately $13 million worth of shares, coinciding with Tesla’s biggest single-day drop in five years.
According to a filing, shares were sold to cover the exercise price for stock options related to the purchase of 531,787 shares, which are set to expire in 2025.
Kimbal Musk, Elon Musk’s brother and a board member, sold 75,000 shares valued at approximately $27 million last month, as stated in a filing.
Meanwhile, board chair Robyn Denholm has sold over $75 million worth of shares in two transactions over the past five weeks, according to federal filings. Her sales were conducted under a predetermined sales plan.
“When company insiders, such as directors, sell shares, it typically sends a negative signal,” Jay Ritter, a finance professor at the University of Florida, told ABC News.
However, Ritter noted that an exception applies to the prearranged stock sale plan adopted by Denholm in July 2024. Such plans are standard practices designed to prevent the appearance that an executive is selling shares based on non-public information.
“Setting up a plan in advance to gradually sell shares over time is a common approach,” Ritter explained.
