Tesla boss says Saudis want to support buyback

Elon Musk said today that he is in talks with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) about taking Tesla private, but admitted that the exact sources of funding have not been confirmed.

Musk said in a blog post that the PIF’s managing director had expressed “strong support for funding a going private transaction for Tesla” at a meeting on 31 July.

He said talks had been ongoing for almost two years.

Musk tweeted last Tuesday that he had secured the “funding” necessary to take Tesla private at a share price of $420.

The PIF has been touted as a possible backer of the plan after it upped its stake in Tesla to five per cent the day before Musk’s tweet.

Musk did not comment on the lawsuits he and Tesla are currently facing over shareholder concerns that his tweet was designed to hurt short-sellers of Tesla stock.

Reports in the US say Musk’s tweet is also being probed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.