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Tesla (TSLA) has defied gravity after a dismal Q1 report. Now, a Tesla board member and Airbnb (ABNB) co-founder has just bought some TSLA stock. It is turning heads since this is the first time in roughly five years that a Tesla insider has directly bought shares without involving gifted stock, options, or derivative securities.
Which Insider Bought TSLA Stock?
Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia bought 4,111 shares of TSLA stock in a transaction valued at just over $1 million. Gebbia’s acquisition stands in stark contrast to the selling pattern typically seen among Tesla insiders. For Tesla, whose top executives are much more famous for selling shares than buying them, even a small buy is enough to make headlines.
“Joe rocks,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote in response to the news on social media platform X.
This purchase is quite interesting due to the timing. Gebbia has decided to invest just weeks before Tesla’s anticipated robotaxi launch in June 2025 in Austin, Texas. According to recent reports, Tesla currently has 300 test operators driving robotaxis around Austin city streets with an internal deadline of June 1 for the service’s rollout.
Other Insiders Are Still Selling
Other insiders are yet to vote positively with their wallets. They have been selling continuously without buying. And just a few days after Gebbia’s investment, Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm filed to unload more than $32 million in shares.
Denholm has sold tens of millions of TSLA stock. In fact, since early December alone, Denholm has sold approximately $150 million worth of Tesla shares. Although her recent filing was connected to a prearranged 10b5-1 trading plan, investor sentiment still soured on the news.
As Fred Lambert, editor-in-chief of EV motoring site Electrek, put it: “For Tesla, it has become a running joke that insiders only sell, never buy the stock.”
Should You Buy TSLA Stock Now?
Joe Gebbia is estimated to be worth over $7.6 billion this year, so a $1 million purchase may be largely symbolic.
TSLA stock has gained over 35% from its trough in April, and the biggest reason for this is due to Elon Musk’s return to the helm this month. Bulls are largely ignoring the core business and instead speculating on Robotaxis and Optimus robots. But unless Musk’s presence can quickly improve auto demand, things are unlikely to improve fundamentally.
Deliveries are continuing to fall, so it’s a brand problem, and Musk becoming more involved with Tesla without fully detaching from politics will still stir up controversy.
Expectations about Robotaxi and Optimus are far too optimistic. Elon Musk’s ambitious claims about Tesla’s self-driving and robotics capabilities have repeatedly missed the mark. Since 2016, Musk has promised that Tesla vehicles would soon be fully autonomous, with projections for 1 million Robotaxis on the road by 2020. None of these milestones have been met, and Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system remains at Level 2 autonomy.
A dismissed internal report suggested that Robotaxis might generate far less revenue than Musk’s public forecasts and recommended focusing instead on a more affordable $25,000 vehicle. Instead, Tesla doubled down on the Robotaxi “Cybercab” while shelving the affordable EV.
Making bolder claims every time the company disappoints on the previous one has worked so far due to the core EV business genuinely doing well. That’s no longer the case. TSLA stock remains a “Sell” in my book.
On the date of publication, Omor Ibne Ehsan did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
