Billionaire Leo Coguan, who claims to be Tesla’s third-largest single shareholder, has urged the automaker to announce a $15 billion share buyback as the company’s share price continues to fall.
In a tweet to Martin Viecha, Tesla’s senior director of investor relations. Coguan said the company should announce soon that it plans to buy back $5 billion in Tesla shares this year and $10 billion next year. He added that Tesla should use its free cash flow to fund purchases and not affect its existing $18 billion cash reserves.
When a publicly-traded company uses cash to buy its shares on the open market. Share repurchases are a method companies use to pay back shareholder capital.
Buybacks hit a record $850 billion in 2021.
Apple bought more of its stock during the year than any other publicly-traded company, followed by Alphabet and then Meta. Alphabet announced a $70 billion buyback last month.
According to a Forbes report in October, Coggan “laid the groundwork” for Tesla at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Which said he made billions from his long-standing relationship with the electric vehicle maker. After selling stakes in other companies, Kogan reportedly went all-in at Tesla, including Baidu, Nvidia, China Mobile, and Nio.
“I consider myself an Elon fanboy,” said Coggan. “I would say he’s the only person I respect.” Musk, the world’s richest person on paper. Said Tuesday that he had delayed the Twitter deal pending further information. On how many fake or spam accounts there were on the social network.
Jefferies analysts said Tuesday that Musk appears to be trying to cut prices due to the recent sell-off in the market.
“Elon Musk’s recent comments suggest he is trying to negotiate a lower bid,” equity analyst Brent Thill and equity strategist James Heaney said in a research note.