(Photo: REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo)
Almost three weeks after Tesla Inc.'s CEO and founder, Elon Musk, announced on Twitter that he got plans to make the company private and out from the control of Wall Street, Musk has finally decided that he'll keep the electric vehicle manufacturer publicly listed.
In his blog post on Friday, the South African business mogul revealed that he had already made consultations with several investors and Tesla's board of directors. The outcome of which has influenced his decision to maintain the status quo and retain Tesla's listing in the market.
In his statement, Musk said that most of Tesla's existing shareholders think the company is "better off as a public company." Still, they would remain loyal if EV maker goes private. However, the sentiment shared by everyone during the meeting was "please don't do this."
Subsequent reports from Green Tech Media meanwhile confirmed that six of the current Tesla directors agree on Musk's call to ensure the "operational success" of the carmaker now that it remains publicly listed. In line with this, the board has also moved on to dissolve the special committee that the CEO previously convened to assess his proposal in making Tesla a private company.
It was on August 7 when the Space-X boss took to his social media announcing his plans to make Tesla become a private firm at USD$420 a share. He also declared that the funding for the said transaction has already been secured, causing more panic to the public.
The stock market world came to a standstill in the days that followed as the series of reports surfaced indicating the possible success of Musk's privatization initiative.
One of the biggest developments than was the purported involvement of the Saudi Arabian government. According to this site's previous report, the Saudi's Public Investment Fund (PIF) was looking to expand its hold in the car company and the timing could have never been better. PIF already has a 5 percent stake in Tesla which is currently valued at USD$2 billion.
Moreover, Musk has reportedly met with investment giants such as Silver Lake, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley to help put up an assessment on Tesla's go-private deal.
It is now Tesla's goal to ramp up the production of its Model 3 while ensuring that the company remains "profitable" as it continues to move forward on its bigger mission to advance "sustainable energy."
In one of the more recent Tesla-related news, Musk hinted at the possibility for Tesla to produce a more affordable USD$25,000 electric vehicle which could come out in 2021.
