Elon Musk taunts taking Tesla private—sending shares soaring

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that he wants to take Tesla private at $420 per share.

In an email to employees, Musk said taking the company private is “the best path forward.”

He noted in his email that:

“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. Finally, as the most shorted stock in the history of the stock market, being public means that there are large numbers of people who have the incentive to attack the company.”

Musk said a shareholder vote must be held before a final decision is made.

He also said, via Twitter, that he would create a “special purpose fund” if the company went private so that current Tesla shareholders could keep their investments in the company.

He tried to justify the reason for proposing to take Tesa private by writing in the email:

“Basically, I’m trying to accomplish an outcome where Tesla can operate at its best, free from as much distraction and short-term thinking as possible, and where there is as little change for all of our investors, including all of our employees, as possible.”

He concluded:

“This proposal to go private would ultimately be finalized through a vote of our shareholders. If the process ends the way I expect it will, a private Tesla would ultimately be an enormous opportunity for all of us. Either way, the future is very bright and we’ll keep fighting to achieve our mission.”

Analysts think this is a smart move.

That as a private company, Tesla would not be required to report quarterly results, freeing it from Wall Street pressure and giving the company a longer-term window to achieve Musk’s goal of a renewable-energy future.

Tesla has been public since 2010.