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Tesla’s Worst Week Since 2016

Tesla’s Worst Week Since 2016
Tesla’s Worst Week Since 2016

Tesla Inc. plunged Friday, capping its worst week since 2016, after Elon Musk told the New York Times that no one saw or reviewed his tweet about the plan to take the company private before he posted it.

Musk, Tesla’s chief executive officer and chairman, told the Times that he typed the take-private tweet as he drove himself to the airport on Aug. 7. The tweet said: “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured”, Bloomberg reported.

The stock was nowhere near that price on Friday as it tumbled 8.9%, the most in two years, to close at $305.50. The fourth straight day of declines has wiped out Tesla’s year-to-date gains and pushed the shares down 14% this week—their most dire one since February 2016.

The going-private tweet has set off a firestorm, causing the stock to jump but also prompting mounting scrutiny, including a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation.

Almost a week later, the CEO said the basis for that statement were conversations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which first expressed interest in helping take the company private in early 2017.

Tesla’s board has since clarified that it hasn’t received a formal proposal from Musk, nor has it concluded whether going private would be advisable or feasible. This week, Musk was said to have received a subpoena for more information, according to a person familiar with the matter.

One funding possibility being considered for the potential privatization is for Musk’s rocket company SpaceX to help bankroll the deal and take a stake in Tesla, the New York Times said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Efforts are also under way to recruit an executive to take some pressure off Musk, the newspaper said, citing people briefed on the search.

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