Elon Musk bought $1 billion worth of Tesla shares on Friday, according to a regulatory filing he made early Monday.
The purchase came the same month Tesla unveiled a proposed compensation package for Musk that could top $1 trillion if he delivers on his vision for stratospheric growth from new technologies.
The chairman of Tesla Robyn Denholm has made several business media appearances in recent days, defending the pay package.
Tesla investors viewed Musk’s stock purchase as both a vote of confidence in the company and a further commitment by Musk to stay at Tesla. The news lifted shares of Tesla 7% at the market open Monday.
Denholm, who’s been chair of Tesla’s board since 2018, called Musk a “generational leader” in a Sept. 12 interview with Bloomberg Television. She downplayed concerns that Musk’s political activity has hurt the company’s performance and suggested he has wide latitude in this regard going forward.
Tesla is currently challenging a Delaware court ruling that struck down a 2018 package for Musk worth about $55.8 billion.
Tesla’s current market capitalization is just over $1 trillion, down somewhat from its peak following recent weak earnings.
This was his first open-market purchase since 2020; whether more follow could provide further clues to his thinking.
Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.