Bumpy ride for investors after Tesla boss Elon Musk’s U-turn

Investors in electric car firm Tesla braced for rocky trading after boss Elon Musk abandons shock plan to take firm private

Investors in electric car firm Tesla are braced for rocky trading today after boss Elon Musk abandoned a shock plan to take the firm private.

Musk ditched the scheme after an outcry from shareholders amid fears it would be too complicated.

He revealed the U-turn to board members during a meeting on the company’s California factory floor, then made it public in a late-night blog post.

‘I knew the process of going private would be challenging, but it’s clear that it would be even more time-consuming and distracting than initially anticipated,’ Musk said.

‘After considering all these factors, I met with Tesla’s board of directors yesterday and let them know that I believe the better path is for Tesla to remain public.’

Musk stunned markets earlier this month by announcing the plan to go private in a tweet and boasting that funding had already been secured.

Shares rose 11 per cent on the day of the announcement, but have since dropped 15 per cent due to fears it might never happen. US watchdogs have launched an investigation into the original announcement, amid fears that Musk could have broken trading laws.

Musk himself said in an interview that he is using sleeping drugs and working 120-hour weeks to boost production at Tesla.

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