Elon Musk considering taking Tesla private
Tesla shares jumped on Tuesday after CEO Elon Musk tweeted that he is considering taking the company private and has secured the financing.
“Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured,” Musk wrote on Twitter.
Shares climbed about 2% following the report, and then accelerated since Musk’s tweet. At 2:08 p.m. ET the Nasdaq halted trading of Tesla's shares - news pending.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 339.64 | -2.39 | -0.70% |
It is unclear if the tweet is legitimate.
About 40 minutes after the tweet about taking the company private, Musk's account tweeted "Good Morning."
Tesla’s shares were already moving higher prior to Musk’s tweet, after the Financial Times reported that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has built a $2 billion stake in the electric automaker.
Tesla shares rallied last week following the company’s second-quarter results. Although the company posted a wider-than-expected second-quarter loss, the company stood behind its prior forecast that it would swing to profitability in the second half of 2018.
With 167.69 million shares outstanding per Yahoo Finance, if Tesla were taken private for $420 share it would come at a price tag of about $70.43 billion.
Tesla did not return FOX Business' request for comment at the time of publication.