According to Musk, a Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund approached him more than once proposing they take private ownership of the company. Since 2017, the fund has been gradually purchasing stock in Tesla, reiterating their interest in privatizing.
"I left the July 31st meeting with no question that a deal with the Saudi sovereign fund could be closed, and that it was just a matter of getting the process moving. This is why I referred to 'funding secured' in the August 7th announcement."
Earlier this month, Musk stated that if this was the case, investors can either stay in or buy out at $420 a share, a solid 20 percent above current pricing.
Musk explained his reason for being so transparent about these recent actions to the public.
"The only way I could have meaningful discussions with our largest shareholders was to be completely forthcoming with them about my desire to take the company private. However, it wouldn't be right to share information about going private with just our largest investors without sharing the same information with all investors at the same time. As a result, it was clear to me that the right thing to do was announce my intentions publicly."
The Tesla board will handle the final decision, including taking the plan to shareholders for a vote.
