(Reuters) – Shares of Tesla Inc pared early gains while Twitter Inc surged on Tuesday after a report that billionaire Elon Musk is expected to propose going ahead with his takeover of the social media platform at $54.20 per share.
Twitter jumped almost 13% to $47.93 before the stock was halted after the report from Bloomberg News. A source later told Reuters that Musk has offered to close the deal it its original price of $54.20.
Tesla was last up 1.6% at about $246, down sharply from an earlier high of $257.50.
Over $16 billion worth of Tesla shares had been exchanged as of midday, equivalent to almost 15% of all trading on Wall Street, according to a Reuters calculation.
Musk and Twitter were set to enter the courtroom this month, with Twitter seeking an order directing Musk to follow through on his agreement last April to buy the company for $54.20 per share, equivalent to $44 billion. Musk ripped up the deal in August.
Tesla’s stock has been under pressure since Musk agreed to buy Twitter due to concerns about how much of the car maker’s shares he might sell to fund the purchase.
Twitter and Musk’s lawyers were not immediately available for a comment.
(Reporting by Noel Randewich in Oakland, Calif.; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
