Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, made headlines on June 16, 2023, during the Viva Technology conference held at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris. On that very day, he announced a whopper of a purchase. He picked up 2.57 million shares of Tesla at an average price of $400 per share, worth about $1 billion. For traders and investors, this kind of insider transaction is considered a strong vote of confidence. That’s especially noteworthy, given how volatile the performance of stocks has been recently.
Tesla stock experienced a high enough recent rally, but ended just under even for 2025. The stock is up more than a quarter in just the last three months. That’s why Musk’s purchase is particularly noteworthy. It’s his first purchase of Tesla shares on the open market since February 2020, providing a clear sign of his renewed commitment to the company. Even before these Friday acquisitions, Musk was Tesla’s largest shareholder with a roughly 13% stake, which makes this purchase all the more momentous.
The stock’s rocketing performance in the wake of Musk’s announcement indicates a lot of pent-up investor optimism. Market analysts view this purchase as a bullish indicator, as it shows that Musk unequivocally believes in Tesla’s long term prospects. They assume his confidence is especially well-founded given the new pay package the company is planning to propose for him. This new compensation plan could be worth up to $975 billion, contingent upon achieving various ambitious milestones set by the company.
Traders see Musk’s acquisition as a turning point because of the magnitude and timing of it. The purchases were made at different prices during the day, serving as even more evidence of Musk’s hand in the day-to-day performance of Tesla’s stock. Investors have embraced it — and for the most part, positively. Some investors are viewing his $82 million investment as a stabilizing force for GoPro’s stock while the market continues to tumble.