OFF THE MARKET

Tesla CEO Elon Musk announces he’s considering taking company private, and he has funding,

Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced Tuesday that he’s considering taking the electric carmaker private, causing the company’s stock to spike.

In keeping with his unorthodox style, Musk made the outof-the blue announcement in a terse tweet. He said he may take the company private at $420 (U.S.) a share and already has secured funding.

“Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured,” Musk tweeted, following up with “good morning” and a smiley emoji.

His tweet came hours after the Financial Times reported that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund had built a significant stake in Tesla Inc., but it was unclear if that was the funding Musk was referring to.

The Financial Times, citing unnamed people with direct knowledge of the matter, said Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund had built a stake of between 3 and 5 per cent of Telsa’s shares.

Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The company’s shares closed at at $379.56, 11 per cent higher than Monday.

It’s highly unusual for the head of a major company make a significant announcement in such casual manner.

The tweet prompted questions about how serious Musk’s intentions were.

His asking price of $420 would be 22 per cent more than Monday’s closing share price, and nearly 9 per cent more than the stock’s all-time closing high of $385.