In a blog post published Friday evening, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that he would change course from his sudden announcement three weeks ago, and would actually keep Tesla as a publicly-traded company.
"Its apparent that most of Teslas existing shareholders believe we are better off as a public company," he wrote. "Additionally, a number of institutional shareholders have explained that they have internal compliance issues that limit how much they can invest in a private company. There is also no proven path for most retail investors to own shares if we were private."
Musk noted that he had met with the Tesla board of directors on Thursday and "let them know that I believe the better path is for Tesla to remain public. The Board indicated that they agree."
Two-week-long roller coaster
The strange saga began with an August 7 tweet that many weren't sure if it should be taken seriously. Nearly immediately, the stock price of the company shot up, and was even briefly suspended.
Within a week Musk revealed that the mystery funder was the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund.
However, due to the strange way that this announcement unfolded, the company has reportedly drawn scrutiny from both the Securities and Exchange Commission and upset investors who have filed five federal lawsuits.
As recently as August 14, Tesla announced that its Board of Directors had formed a "special committee" of three directors to examine whether taking the company private was feasible.
"The special committee has not yet received a formal proposal from Mr. Musk regarding any Going Private Transaction nor has it reached any conclusion as to the advisability or feasibility of such a transaction," the company said.
"No assurances can be given regarding the likelihood, terms and details of any proposal or potential Going Private Transaction, that any proposal made by Mr. Musk regarding a potential Going Private Transaction will be accepted by the special committee, that definitive documentation relating to any such Going Private Transaction will be executed or that such a transaction will be completed."
That committee was formally dissolved on Thursday, August 23, according to a statement from the Board itself.
"Over the past several weeks, we put in place a process led by a Special Committee of the Board to evaluate a proposal Elon was considering to take Tesla private," the Board wrote.
"Yesterday, we held a Board meeting, during which Elon reported on the work he and his advisors have been doing in connection with this effort. Elon communicated to the Board that after having done this work and considered all factors, he believes the better path is to no longer pursue a transaction for taking Tesla private. After discussing this, we dissolved the Special Committee. The Board and the entire company remain focused on ensuring Teslas operational success, and we fully support Elon as he continues to lead the company moving forward."
Tesla spokesman Dave Arnold referred Ars to Musk's blog post and the Board's announcement, declining to respond to questions.
"We dont have anything further," he emailed.
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Ars Technica
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