Elon Musk raised a $1 billion loan from SpaceX — the 20-year-old rocket company run by the billionaire — around the same time he acquired Twitter, now known as X, for $44 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
SpaceX approved the $1 billion loan, which was backed by a portion of Musk’s SpaceX stock, in October, and Musk raised it all the same month, according to the report, citing documents. Musk took ownership of Twitter in October.
Musk has made arrangements with banks to lend against his shares in his companies, including the electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla, while privately serving SpaceX as his lender, the report said, adding that paying for Twitter would increase the further complicated Musk’s financial situation.
Musk is SpaceX’s largest shareholder with a 42% stake and nearly 79% of his voting rights as of March, the report said, citing a filing with the Federal Communications Commission. SpaceX had $4.7 billion in cash and securities on hand at the end of last year, the newspaper said, citing documents.
Both SpaceX and X did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Elon Musk sold much of his Tesla stock in 2022, both before and after the Twitter deal, bringing his total revenue to about $40 billion, frustrating investors in the EV maker.
In April 2023, Tesla announced that it had further tightened rules around Musk’s use of his stake in the company to borrow money, the WSJ report said.
In addition to Tesla and X, Musk is a co-founder of brain chip startup Neuralink.
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