Editor's note: Shares resumed trading at 3:45 p.m. EDT and continued to rise before closing up 11%. Musk also posted on the Tesla blog.
What happened
Shares of electric-car maker Tesla (TSLA -2.40%) have skyrocketed, up by 7% as of 2:30 p.m. EDT, after CEO Elon Musk suggested on social media that he may take the company private. The eccentric billionaire said that funding had already been "secured."
Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 7, 2018
So what
At $420 per share, Tesla would be valued at approximately $70 billion. Such a deal would represent the largest leveraged buyout (LBO) in history, eclipsing the $33 billion LBO deal for hospital operator HCA last year. Trading of Tesla shares was halted pending the release of material news. No trade resumption time is currently listed.
Image source: Tesla.
Musk's SpaceX is also a private company, in part to spare the rocket manufacturer from short-term pressure from public investors.
Now what
In a series of follow-up tweets, Musk confirmed that one reason to go private would be to save "a lot of headaches." He also added that his "hope" was that all current investors could remain as investors even if Tesla were to go private, potentially by creating a "special purpose fund" similar to SpaceX's capital structure.
Absolutely. Am super appreciative of Tesla shareholders. Will ensure their prosperity in any scenario.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 7, 2018
Under the theoretical deal, investors would have the option to sell their shares at $420 each or hold the shares as the company goes private. Musk also reiterated that he would remain on as CEO.
Later in the day, Musk posted on the company blog a copy of an email he said was sent to Tesla employees today. Noting that any proposal to go private would have to be approved by shareholders, it said in part:
As a public company, we are subject to wild swings in our stock price that can be a major distraction for everyone working at Tesla, all of whom are shareholders. Being public also subjects us to the quarterly earnings cycle that puts enormous pressure on Tesla to make decisions that may be right for a given quarter, but not necessarily right for the long-term. ...
[T]his has nothing to do with accumulating control for myself. I own about 20% of the company now, and I don’t envision that being substantially different after any deal is completed.
