Elon Musk Cancels Plan To Take Tesla Private

(RTTNews) - Tesla Inc's. (TSLA) chief executive Elon Musk said that he cancelled his plan to take Tesla Inc. private, after a board meeting.

Tesla's chairman, CEO and largest shareholder said he had met with the board and "let them know that I believe the better path is for Tesla to remain public. The Board indicated that they agree", published in a 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 wrote in a statement that Tesla posted on the company's blog.

Based on all the discussions that have taken place over the last couple of weeks and a thorough consideration of what is best for the company, I've received, it's apparent that most of Tesla's existing shareholders believe we are better off as a public company, Elon stated. Additionally, a number of institutional shareholders have explained that they have internal compliance issues that limit how much they can invest in a private company.

In a separate statement, six of Tesla's directors James Murdoch, Antonio Gracias, Robyn Denholm, Brad Buss, Ira Ehrenpreis and Linda Johnson Rice said that at the meeting, Elon reported on the work he and his advisers have been doing in connection with this effort."

"Elon communicated to the board that after having done this work and considered all factors, he believes the better path is to no longer pursue a transaction for taking Tesla private," the directors said in the statement.

"The Board and the entire company remain focused on ensuring Tesla's operational success, and we fully support Elon as he continues to lead the company moving forward."