Elon Musk has made his first Tesla stock purchase on the open market in over five years, spending roughly $1 billion last Friday, September 12. According to a new SEC filing, Musk bought 2.55 million Tesla shares through the Elon Musk Revocable Trust at weighted average prices between $371.90 and $396.36 per share.
The last time Musk bought Tesla stock on the open market was back in February 2020, when he picked up just over 13,000 shares for $10 million. This time, he increased his stake in Tesla by 0.62%, bringing his indirect holdings to more than 413 million shares, alongside the 96 million shares he directly owns.
What makes this move stand out is that it wasn’t part of a 10b5-1 trading plan — Musk simply decided to buy on the open market. That fact, combined with the scale of the purchase, is being interpreted by many as a major vote of confidence in Tesla’s future.
The market reaction has been swift. Tesla stock surged more than 6% on the news, climbing to around $420 per share at the time of writing — a fact Musk himself joked about on X. The stock had been sliding in recent months after Musk’s public feud with President Donald Trump and the White House earlier this year, which rattled investors.
Analysts are also weighing in positively. William Blair’s Jed Dorsheimer wrote in a new note that Musk’s buy, coupled with momentum around deliveries and Tesla’s ongoing Robotaxi rollout, signals strong confidence in what he sees as Tesla’s most important future business.
This move also comes as Tesla’s board recently proposed an unprecedented $1 trillion compensation package for Musk, set for a shareholder vote in November. The package is tied directly to market value milestones, meaning Musk’s payout depends heavily on Tesla’s future stock performance.
Between his billion-dollar buy-in and the board’s full backing, Musk’s latest move seems designed to reassure investors and send a message that he’s all-in on Tesla’s long-term growth.
