Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk sold $6.9 billion worth of shares in the electric vehicle maker, saying the funds could be used to finance a potential Twitter deal if he loses a legal battle with the social media platform.

"In the (hopefully unlikely) event that Twitter forces this deal to close *and* some equity partners don’t come through, it is important to avoid an emergency sale of Tesla stock," he said in a tweet late on Tuesday.

Musk in early July tore up his April 25 agreement to buy Twitter for $44 billion. Twitter has sued Musk to force him to complete the transaction, dismissing his claim that he was misled about the number of spam accounts on the social media platform as buyer's remorse in the wake of a plunge in technology stocks. The two sides head to trial on Oct. 17.

"Street will read through this poker move that chances of Twitter deal more likely now," Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, tweeted.

In other comments on Twitter on Tuesday, Musk said "yes" when asked if he was done selling Tesla stock, and also said he would buy Tesla stock again if the Twitter deal does not close.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Musk, the world's richest person, sold $8.5 billion worth of Tesla shares in April and had said at the time there were no further sales planned. But since then, legal experts had suggested that if Musk is forced to complete the acquisition or settle the dispute with a stiff penalty, he was likely to sell more Tesla shares.

Musk sold about 7.92 million shares between Aug.5 and Aug.9, according to multiple filings. He now owns 155.04 million Tesla shares or just under 15% of the automaker according to Reuters calculations.

The latest sales bring total Tesla stock sales by Musk to about $32 billion in less than one year.

Tesla shares have risen nearly 15% since the automaker reported better-than-expected earnings on July 20, also helped by the Biden administration's climate bill that, if passed, would lift the cap on tax credits for electric vehicles.

Musk also teased on Tuesday that he could start his own social media platform. When asked by a Twitter user if he had thought about creating his own platform if the deal didn't close, he replied: "X.com"

SOURCE: REUTERS 

Islamabad: A court in the federal capital Wednesday granted a two-day physical remand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Shahbaz Gill, who was arrested on charges of alleged sedition and inciting the public against the state institutions.

In a sedition case, Gill was produced before the court today where the Islamabad Police sought his physical remand to recover the mobile phone and the device which he used to make statements. 

Judicial magistrate Omar Bashir reserved his verdict, after hearing the petition, before granting a two-day physical remand. 

The case hearing took place amid strict security arrangements. 

It is pertinent to mention here that Shahbaz Gill was arrested by Islamabad police on Tuesday over a case of incitement to rebellion registered against him in the Bani Gala police station. 

The FIR was registered under sections 34 (common intention), 109 (abetment), 120 (concealing design to commit offence punishable with imprisonment), 121 (waging war against state), 124-A (sedition), 131 (abetting mutiny, or attempt to seduce a soldier, sailor or airman from his duty), 153 (provoking to cause riot), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups),  505 (statement conducing to public mischief),  and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). 

Besides other charges, clauses related to spreading anarchy and hatred were added to the FIR. 

Iraqi Navy Commander Ahmed Jasim Maarij Abdullah Al-Zayed held a meeting with Naval Chief Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi in Islamabad on Wednesday and discussed cooperation in the maritime sector.

The Iraqi Commander appreciated Pakistan Navy's role in regional maritime security.