Elon Musk Faces $7.5B Insider Trading Allegation From Tesla Shar

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Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has been accused of insider trading after selling shares worth over $7.5 billion in the last two months of 2022. The lawsuit, filed by shareholder Michael Perry in the Delaware Chancery Court, claims that Musk sold a total of over $7.5 billion worth of Tesla (TSLA) shares in late 2022 before the disclosure of disappointing fourth-quarter production and delivery numbers. Perry alleges that Musk, using his access to real-time data, was aware of the lower-than-expected numbers when he sold shares worth $3.95 billion in November 2022 and $3.58 billion in December 2022. Tesla's stock (TSLA) fell to $108.10 on January 3, down from the $123.18 it closed on December 30, and the lawsuit pegged Musk's "insider profits" for the aforementioned share sales at about $3 billion. The lawsuit also accuses then-Tesla directors of breach of fiduciary duty of loyalty for allowing Musk's sales and is seeking a directive from the court that all profits obtained from these share sales be returned.

The lawsuit is the latest of legal hurdles for the EV giant, as Musk's 2018 pay package, worth $56 billion at the time of award, was rescinded by a Delaware court earlier this year. Tesla's board is trying to have it reinstated by a shareholder vote again in June.

Tesla stock (TSLA) closed Friday's trading session down 0.4% with a Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 52.21 which is moderate. Tesla is in a consolidation zone for the past 3 weeks.