Shares in Tesla have surged on news that Elon Musk has snapped up stock worth more than $1bn (£741m), bolstering investor hopes the tycoon is committed to its recovery.

The purchase was revealed in a filing which showed the billionaire had bought more than 2.5 million shares last week.

Tesla‘s shares, largely flat in the year to date, rose by more than 5% on Wall St in response.

Values collapsed at the start of the year when Musk‘s-then political bromance with Donald Trump was blamed for a growing backlash against the company.

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Sales fell and Tesla premises were even attacked after he began his role at the helm of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Tesla revenues sagged in Europe too given his association with the president and his trade war, with part of the backlash also blamed on his intervention in Germany’s elections.

One of Tesla’s earliest investors told Sky News at that time that Musk should quit as Tesla’s chief executive unless he gave up the job.

His subsequent decision to step back from the president’s side since May, and the resulting war of words between them, has threatened key subsidies for the company.

It also failed to stop talk that his focus remains too broad, given all his other interests including X and Space X.

Earlier this month, in a bid to secure his commitment, Tesla released a proposed pay package that could make him the world’s first trillionaire.

The targets he must hit over the next decade are steep if he is to qualify for the share awards.

They include operating profit, sales targets and a $2trn stock market valuation – almost double today’s $1.2trn figure.

An investor vote on the proposed package is due in November.

Danni Hewson, AJ Bell’s head of financial analysis, said of the share price surge: “Markets like it when directors buy into their own companies because it suggests they are confident about returns going forward, and that applies in spades for a CEO as prominent as Elon Musk.”

Aldi is to open 80 new shops over the next two years, as well as opening a new one every week until the end of the year, after sales hit a record high.

On top of the new sites to be launched, the UK arm of the German discount retailer said a further 21 stores will open within the next 13 weeks, in London, Durham, and Scotland.

“If we’re not there already, we are coming to a town near you,” Aldi’s UK and Ireland chief executive Giles Hurley told reporters, which will create thousands of additonal jobs.

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Earlier this year, Aldi also said it was seeking sites in Bromley and Ealing in London, South Shields in Tyne and Wear, and Witney in Oxfordshire.

Opening more shops will mean growing market share as the barrier of distance to an Aldi is eliminated.

“The last 35 years have taught us that when we open a store nearby, customers switch to Aldi,” Mr Hurley said.

“The main reason people choose not to shop with us regularly is distance, with over a third of shoppers saying they’d switched to Aldi for their main shop if we opened a store closer to them.”

There are currently 1,060 Aldis in the UK, with an ambition to bring the total to 1,500.

Price wars

Aldi is the UK’s fourth most popular supermarket, after Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda, according to industry data from Worldpanel.

More families were choosing it as the place to do their weekly shop and were also going more frequently for top-up shopping, the company said, which helped Aldi’s UK and Ireland annual revenue reach a new record of £18.1bn in 2024.

Prices are to be brought down in the coming weeks and months as Christmas approaches, Mr Hurley said, as 900 products became cheaper with £300m spent on bringing down the cost of goods.

“I’m really confident that in the coming days, weeks and months, we’ll continue to see prices in our stores drop”, Mr Hurley added.

Market trends

Despite promised price falls, the outlook for overall inflation is “stubborn”, he said, “more stubborn than other developed countries”.

This is seen in changing buyer behaviour. More shoppers are treating themselves at home rather than going out and are increasingly buying Aldi’s own-label premium goods, Mr Hurley said.

Looking to the budget on 26 November, he said there’s “no doubt” it “does create a bit of uncertainty”.

Grocery prices could rise, and consumer confidence could be affected if business costs grow, he added.

Blackstone, the private equity giant which owns stakes in Legoland and swathes of British real estate, will this week pledge to invest £100bn in UK assets over the next decade during President Trump’s state visit.

Sky News has learnt that the investment group will unveil the commitment as part of a government-orchestrated announcement aimed at shifting attention back to the economic ties between Britain and the US.

President Trump’s arrival in the UK this week will come against a febrile political backdrop, following Lord Mandelson’s sacking as US ambassador over his ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

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Ministers have already begun announcing billions of pounds worth of partnerships in sectors such as financial services and nuclear power, with further deals to follow in areas including artificial intelligence.

Blackstone’s £100bn commitment to UK investments over the next decade forms part of a $500bn European splurge announced by the buyout firm in June, according to a person familiar with its plans.

The figure will encompass private equity buyouts as well as other forms of investment, they added.

A source close to the firm said it had agreed to invest the sum following talks with Downing Street officials led by Varun Chandra, Sir Keir Starmer’s business adviser.

Blackstone has for decades been one of the most prolific investors in British companies, and only last week triumphed in a £490m takeover battle for Warehouse REIT, a London-listed logistics company.

Last week, it emerged that Southern Water had banned water tanker deliveries to a country estate owned by Stephen Schwarzman, Blackstone’s billionaire chief executive.

Sky News revealed last week that Mr Schwarzman would be among the corporate chiefs accompanying President Trump on his state visit.

Blackstone, which manages assets worth about $1.2trn, declined to comment.