Tesla shares halted after Musk tweet

Tesla chief Elon Musk stunned investors Tuesday when he tweeted that he was considering taking the company private, sending its stock soaring more than 6 percent.

Musk said he had “funding secured” to take the allelectric automaker private at $420 a share, far above its current $360 stock price. That would value the company — already the United States’ most valuable automaker — at more than $70 billion.

Tesla shares were halted around 2 p.m. in advance of pending news.

Musk’s tweet was an exceedingly rare way to break potentially monumental news. Public companies often halt trading in their stock and file official releases before making similar statements so as to minimize market jolts and abide by guidance from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The sudden announcement gained immediate criticism from former regulators who suggested it may conflict with SEC rules for potentially market-moving statements.

Harvey Pitt, a former SEC chairman, told CNBC on Tuesday that Musk’s tweets “might constitute fraud if any of the facts he disclosed are not true” or if there was any indication that he had floated the proposal purely to boost the stock price.

The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

But Musk continued to tweet, adding, “I don’t have

BLOOMBERG NEWS Tesla chief Elon Musk Tweeted on Tuesday that he had “funding secured” to take the automaker private at $420 per share.