Tesla shares soar as Musk goes on buying spree

Shares in Tesla have surged on news that Elon Musk has snapped up stock worth more than $1bn (£741m), bolstering investor hopes the tycoon is committed to its recovery.

The purchase was revealed in a filing which showed the billionaire had bought more than 2.5 million shares last week. Tesla's shares, largely flat in the year to date, rose by more than 5% on Wall St in response.

Values collapsed at the start of the year when Musk's-then political bromance with Donald Trump was blamed for a growing backlash against the company. Money latest: £200 bank switch deal Sales fell and Tesla premises were even attacked after he began his role at the helm of the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Mr Musk oversaw the firing of thousands of government employees and his companies were targeted after he made what looked like a Nazi salute at Mr Trump's inauguration, Tesla revenues sagged in Europe too, given his association with the president and his trade war, with part of the backlash also blamed on his intervention in Germany's elections. In Europe, he endorsed Germany's far-right party and called for the release of then-jailed far-right activist Tommy Robinson.

One of Tesla's earliest investors told Sky News at that time that Musk should quit as Tesla's chief executive unless he gave up the job. His subsequent decision to step back from the president's side since May, and the resulting war of words between them, has threatened key subsidies for the company.

It also failed to stop talk that his focus remained too broad, given all his other interests, including X and Space X. Earlier this month, in a bid to secure his commitment, Tesla released a proposed pay package that could make him the world's first trillionaire.

The targets he must hit over the next decade are steep if he is to qualify for the share awards. They include operating profit, sales targets and a $2trn stock market valuation - almost double today's $1.2trn figure.

An investor vote on the proposed package is due in November. Danni Hewson, AJ Bell's head of financial analysis, said of the share price surge: "Markets like it when directors buy into their own companies because it suggests they are confident about returns going forward, and that applies in spades for a CEO as prominent as Elon Musk.".