Musk sells nearly £3.5bn of Tesla stock

According to US securities findings, the Tesla CEO sold 19.5million shares from the electric vehicle company which were worth $3.95billion (£3.42bn). The news saw one Twitter user comment: ‘Musk is a traitor to Tesla shareholders’.The comment follows the anger of Tesla investors who were concerned about Musk’s focus on purchasing Twitter which saw him sell shares in the automotive company.Following Musk’s purchase of Twitter last month, the recent sale of Tesla stocks has now reached $20billion (£17.3bn) since he announced his stake in the social media platform in April.The tech billionaire stated that he had no further plans to sell shares following the sales in August and April which had a total value of $15.4billion (£13.3bn).The SpaceX founder closed his purchase of Twitter in October for $44billion (£38.1bn) and immediately made controversial changes including firing 50 percent of Twitter’s workforce. Elon Musk’s net worth has dropped (Image: Getty) Elon Musk closed his purchase of Twitter last month (Image: Getty)His other pledges included making Twitter a platform for free speech which would see the return of banned accounts such as that of former President Donald Trump and introducing a fee for the blue tick.Musk’s Twitter takeover has seen a wave of users search for other platforms such as Mastodon which gained thousands of users over the past week.Supermodel Gigi Hadid deactivated her Twitter account saying that the platform had become ‘a cesspool of hatred and bigotry’.On Instagram Ms Hadid said: ‘I deactivated my Twitter account today. For a long time, but especially with its new leadership, it’s becoming more and more a cesspool of hate and bigotry, and it’s not a place I want to be a part of.’READ MORE: Insiders warn Trump’s ‘protest’ call is ‘strategic’ play ahead of 2024To independent-minded voters:Shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties, therefore I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the Presidency is Democratic.- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 7, 2022 Now the Tesla boss has received backlash for encouraging ‘independent-minded voters’ to vote for Republican candidates in the US Midterms on Tuesday.Musk’s Tweet to his 115million followers said: ‘To independent-minded voters: Shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties, therefore I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the Presidency is Democratic.’It appeared that his tweet alongside the recent criticism of his actions at Twitter HQ caused a price-drop in Tesla’s stock which saw Musk’s net worth plummet below $200bn (£173bn).DON’T MISS:Mississippi election websites attacked by Russian hackers (REVEAL)Joe Biden almost falls on stage a day before US midterm elections (INSIGHT)Sons of Russia’s elite dodge Putin’s military draft to fight Ukraine (REVEAL) Thousands left Twitter and joined its new rival Mastodon (Image: Getty)The midterm elections concerned Edward Perez, Twitter’s former director of product management who said Musk’s mass sacking of staff could impact the company’s efforts to tackle disinformation.Speaking to Wired, Mr Perez said: ‘I am really concerned that it feels like the drama around corporate takeover is sucking up all the oxygen in the room.’He added that he is troubled about the ‘potentially inadequate attention on these election-related issues’.