Two weeks after suggesting he would take his company private, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has reversed the plan. He says staying on the public stock markets is a "better path" for the firm.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/J. Lampen
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Tesla's chief executive, Elon Musk, said Friday Tesla would continue to be traded publicly after investors convinced him not to take the US electric carmaker private.
Musk said in a statement posted to the company's blog that he let the board know that "I believe the better path is for Tesla to remain public. The Board indicated that they agree."
The sometimes eccentric entrepreneur shocked markets in early August when he announced on Twitter that he was considering taking the automaker private at a value of $72 billion (€62 billion). The tweet said he had "secured funding" for the plan, but the company later revealed it had not yet closed a deal with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.
Musk said Friday that based on feedback from current shareholders, as well as an assessment by financial advisers Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Silver Lake, "it's apparent that most of Tesla's existing shareholders believe we are better off as a public company."
Even though the majority of shareholders "said they would remain with Tesla if we went private, the sentiment, in a nutshell, was 'please don't do this,'" he said.
A statement issued by six members of Tesla's board of directors said the special committee formed to consider the deal to turn private had been dissolved.
From colonies on Mars to Hyperloop — Elon Musk's multifarious projects
Billionaire investor and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has always done things his own way, from designing space rockets to manufacturing electric cars. Here's a look at some of his grand futuristic projects.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/J. Lampen
A serial entrepreneur
Tech visionary Musk intends to revolutionize transportation, both on earth and in space, and the way humans lead their lives. Over the past two decades, the South African-born American entrepreneur has emerged as one of Silicon Valley's most recognized faces worldwide. Musk was cofounder of Paypal, which was acquired by eBay for $1.4 billion (€1.2 billion) in 2002.
Image: picture allianc/dpa/A. Sokolow
Eying space
In 2002, Musk founded SpaceX, an aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company currently valued at over $20 billion. He wants to make space travel cheaper and, eventually, enable human life on Mars, thus giving human kind a chance at becoming multi-planetary species.
Image: Reuters/T. Baur
A mission to Mars
SpaceX's Falcon and Dragon rocket programs both already deliver payloads into Earth's orbit. The company has said it wants to launch its Mars-bound cargo flight in 2022, followed by the first Mars flight with passengers in 2024.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Press Association Images/Spacex
Transforming transportation
After founding SpaceX, Musk set up Tesla in 2003 to come up with electric autonomous vehicles and renewable energy solutions. But production bottlenecks have plagued the company, with much of its future banked on the Model 3, its first mid-price, mass-market vehicle.
Image: Reuters/Tesla
Really big Teslas are coming
After the foray into electric cars, Musk last year opened a new chapter in his book of visions as he unveiled the prototype of a futuristic all-electric heavy truck. The vehicle — dubbed the Tesla Semi — is set to go into production in 2019. It would boast 500 miles of range, a battery and motors that will last 1 million miles and cheaper total operating costs than diesel models, Musk claimed.
Image: Reuters/A. Sage
Roofs made of solar tiles
Besides running SpaceX and Tesla, Musk has also invested in the solar energy company SolarCity to turn his vision of a solar-powered future into a reality. Musk said houses equipped with Tesla's Solar Roof would feed energy to Powerwall, a sleek storage unit designed to act as an electricity fill-up station for both the house and a Tesla electric car.
Image: picture-alliance/Newscom/Tesla/UPI
Dreaming an electric future
In 2015, Musk unveiled Powerwall, a home battery unit with a selling price of $3,500 for 10kWh and $3,000 for 7kWh. The Powerwall can be controlled via one's phone, from anywhere. But slow production rates have proved to be a problem.
Image: Reuters/P. T. Fallon
Hyperloop
Hyperloop came into global prominence after it was proposed by Musk in 2013. It is viewed as a next-generation transportation system — a "fifth mode" of transport (after planes, trains, cars and boats). It uses magnetically-levitated pods and sealed partial vacuum transit tubes to move people and freight at supersonic speeds estimated to reach over 700 miles per hour (1,127 kilometers per hour).
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/SpaceX
Merging brain with AI
In 2016, Musk co-founded Neuralink, a neurotechnology startup that is reportedly trying to create brain-computer interfaces by integrating the human brain with artificial intelligence (AI). The project is currently at an early stage of development.
