(Reuters) - Tesla Inc shares jumped more than 7 percent on Tuesday after Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Twitter he is considering taking the electric car maker private at $420 per share as it goes through a period of rapid growth and financial constraints.
FILE PHOTO: Elon Musk listens at a press conference following the first launch of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., February 6, 2018. REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo
Such a deal, if it went ahead, would take Tesla out of the glare of Wall Street but might limit its access to capital. It would be one of the biggest go-private deals on record with a price tag of about $72 billion, based on $420 per share.
"Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured," Musk said on Twitter. bit.ly/2Om3gn3
That price would represent a 22.8 percent premium to Tesla’s closing price on Monday.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation or clarification.
When another person tweeted that going private “saves a lot of headaches,” Musk replied, “Yes”.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allows companies to use social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter to announce key information in compliance with its fair disclosure rules so long as investors have been alerted about which social media outlets will be used to disseminate such information.
The SEC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Musk’s tweet.
Tesla’s shares jumped as high as $371.15 in afternoon trading. They were later halted for news pending.
The company had a market value of $58 billion as of Monday’s close. Musk owns nearly 20 percent of the company.
Musk has been under intense pressure
