Billionaire Elon Musk just spent $1 billion of his own money to buy more Tesla shares, giving the previously struggling group of stocks a springboard to recover and turn positive this year.

The purchase, made on September 12 and announced on September 15, is a rare move by Musk or any other CEO, according to CNN. Very few business leaders use their own money to buy company stock without using a special option that allows them to buy shares at a fraction of the market price.

The news sent Tesla shares up 7% when the market opened on September 15. Although they failed to sustain their initial gains, the stock ended the session up nearly 4%. That was enough to erase the rest of Tesla’s losses for the year, which at one point were down 42% from the end of 2024.

“This is a huge boost from Musk and the bulls love it,” said Dan Ives, a technology analyst at Wedbush Securities. “It sends a positive signal after a tumultuous year for Musk and Tesla shareholders.”

Musk’s purchase of $1 billion in shares, largely as a symbolic gesture, is another sign of his vast wealth. The price is within the reach of the richest man on the planet. In fact, the September 15 stock price increase added about $5.8 billion to his net worth, far more than the initial cost.

Tesla shares nearly doubled after the election, as investors bet that Musk’s close relationship with President-elect Donald Trump would help the company’s financial prospects, especially given its plans to focus on self-driving cars and develop a robotaxi fleet. But after hitting a record high in mid-December, the stock has since fallen sharply.

As Mr. Musk headed the Trump administration’s Office of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the company began to face backlash from those opposed to Mr. Trump and his agenda. Tesla posted its biggest sales declines in history in the first and second quarters, and profits fell as well.

In addition to political developments hurting sales, the company faces increased competition from other electric vehicle makers, especially in China. Chinese automaker BYD is expected to surpass Tesla as the world’s largest electric vehicle maker, although its vehicles are not available in the U.S. market.

Tesla and other automakers are facing the end of the $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicle buyers in the US at the end of this month. While this is expected to boost Tesla’s sales in the third quarter, the electric car company is likely to see a sharp decline for the rest of the year.

The September 15 purchase added 2.6 million Tesla shares to Musk’s portfolio, but it barely increased his stake in the company, with his Tesla holdings rising by less than 1%.

Mr. Musk has bought Tesla shares on the open market before, but most of them came from exercising stock options he received as compensation. The 413 million Tesla shares he owns now represent a 12.8% stake in the company, but the billionaire has said he wants to control at least 25% of the company.

“I’m not comfortable making Tesla a leader in AI and robotics without having about 25% of the voting power. Enough to have influence, but not so much that I can’t be ousted,” the founder wrote in a January 2024 X post.