- Elon Musk fueled speculation that Tesla could soon announce its first-ever stock buyback.
- Responding to a tweet from a top Tesla investor who said only a buyback or a doubling in profit could break the stock's slump, Musk said "Noted."
Elon Musk added further fuel to speculation that Tesla could buyback stock for the first time.
On October 3, Leo KoGuan — who claims to be the EV maker's third-largest individual shareholder — tweeted, "Tesla is having PE ratio compression that can be solved only by buyback and/or by 2x earnings increase."
On Thursday, Musk replied "Noted."
KoGuan previously called for a repurchase when shares were falling in May. At the time, he said Tesla should announce plans for a $5 billion buyback this year and a $10 billion buyback next year.
On Friday, Tesla stock was down 6% at $207.84 and has tumbled more than 40% this year amid aggressive interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve, fears of a recession, and Musk's Twitter takeover bid, which would involve his Tesla shares.
He is currently facing headwinds from his pursuit of Twitter, which said in a regulatory filing Thursday that Musk is being investigated by federal authorities for actions related to his bid.
A Delaware judge has also given him until October 28 to finalize the deal or go to trial with the social media company and face a potential breakup fee. Reports have also surfaced in recent days that Musk is at risk of losing his financing for the deal.
Meanwhile, Tesla is set to report third-quarter earnings on October 19.