Tesla’s board says Elon Musk brought up going private last week

Tesla CEO Elon
Musk.
Fred Prouser /
Reuters

• The Board of Directors for Tesla said
  
  in a statement issued on Wednesday that company CEO
  Elon
  Musk had brought up the notion of taking the company
  private last week. 
• Musk announced on Twitter on Tuesday that he
  
  is considering taking Tesla private at $420 per
  share. 
• Some
  industry commentators have wondered if Musk opened himself
  up to legal ramifications because of the nature of his public
  announcement. 

  ---

Tesla’s Board of Directors said
in a statement issued on Wednesday that company CEO Elon Musk
had brought up the notion of taking the company private last
week, prior to his public Tweets on Tuesday afternoon. 

In a statement issued on the Tesla
company website, Board of Directors members Brad Buss, Robyn
Denholm, Ira Ehrenpreis, Antonio Gracias, Linda Johnson Rice, and
James Murdoch wrote:

“Last week, Elon opened a discussion with the board about taking
the company private. This included discussion as to how being
private could better serve Tesla’s long-term interests, and also
addressed the funding for this to occur. The board has met
several times over the last week and is taking the appropriate
next steps to evaluate this.” 

Venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson and Kimbal Musk, Elon’s
brother, are also board members but
are not listed among those who are included in making the
statement.

Musk shocked the business world on Tuesday when he
publicly announced in a series of tweets he may take the
electric car company private at $420 a share. 

“Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding
secured,” Musk first 
said
via Twitter before issuing a formal statement on the company’s
website.

In the formal statement, Musk
wrote “a final decision has not yet been made, but the
reason for doing this is all about creating the environment for
Tesla to operate best.” Musk cited a desire to leave behind the
distractions brought on by stock market trading and operate
without the pressures of quarterly earnings cycles. 

“I fundamentally believe that we are at our best when
everyone is focused on executing, when we can remain focused on
our long-term mission, and when there are not perverse incentives
for people to try to harm what we’re all trying to achieve,” he
said.

But Musk’s tweets about going private created an immediate
firestorm, with some
industry experts wondering if he opened himself up to legal
liabilities by announcing his intentions to leave the market
prior to a unified corporate statement with his board of
directors. 

Tesla’s stock
soared following Musk’s tweets, reaching as high as $371.15
per share after trading around $361 in early afternoon trading on
Tuesday. 

Other industry experts
cast doubt on the feasibility of Musk’s plan to pull off a
buyout of Tesla. 

Musk said in his statement that a shareholder vote must be
held before a final decision is made. But he also tweeted
thatinvestor
support was confirmed, only that it was contingent on a
shareholder vote.

Get the latest Tesla stock price here.