Tesla suspends shares after Elon Musk tweets he wants to take the carmaker private

[brooklynite]

Source: Washington Post

REAKING: Tesla suspends shares after chief Elon Musk’s tweets

Tesla chief Elon Musk stunned investors Tuesday when he tweeted that he was considering taking the company private, sending its stock soaring more than 7 percent before trading was halted.

Musk said he had “funding secured” to take the all-electric automaker private at $420 a share, far above its current $360 stock price. That would value the company — already the United States' most valuable automaker — at more than $70 billion.

Link to tweet

Tesla shares were halted around 2 p.m. in advance of pending news.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2018/08/07/teslas-elon-musk-tweets-he-wants-take-carmaker-private/

[PoliticAverse]

1. Well that's one way to get your stock price up - hint at a $420 buyout when your stock is at $343.

[zipplewrath]

2. barely sounds legal

Sounds like a variation of pump and dump.

[snowybirdie]

3. He seems to be

More irrational lately. If I was on his board, Is be having him watched closely. He's beginning to act like Trump!

[rogue emissary]

4. Yeah, he seems to be spiraling under the pressure of his questionable success.

[PoliticAverse]

5. He seems to always be on the verge of being a Bond villain to me. n/t

[dalton99a]

6. He just became $851 million richer

Link to tweet

[LudwigPastorius]

7. How is this not securities fraud/stock manipulation?

Honest question.

[PoliticAverse]

8. That would be based on how true what he said was, primarily the "funding secured" part.

Has he really "secured" $ 70 billion or so to take the company private?

[TeamPooka]

11. actually there are rules for how information from publicly traded companies is released

especially when it can affect the stock price.

[Baclava]

9. Production still way behind, maybe next year

Tesla not making enough Model 3s to hit Elon Musk's production target, workers say

And the massive tent Musk had built to hold another Model 3 assembly line doesn't seem to be producing that many new cars

The Model 3, initially promised at a base price of US$35,000, is meant to be the mass market vehicle that can propel electric-powered vehicles into the mainstream and Tesla into profitability. But Tesla has struggled to produce the volume of cars it needs because of problems with the assembly line and other snafus.

https://business.financialpost.com/transportation/autos/tesla-not-making-enough-model-3s-to-hit-elon-musks-production-target-workers-say

-------------------

$9000 extra for the long range battery, with higher options


Test drive

While it’s the car intended to take Tesla into mass production, that path has proven more painful and troublesome than the company seems to have imagined even in its nightmares.

Some of the Model 3s delivered over the car's first six months or more have the worst build quality of any electric car offered by a serious maker. That’s not a first anyone wants to write home about.

Those problems include touchscreens suffering from "phantom touch" that turn various functions on and off at random; unexplained battery capacity loss in parked cars; squeaks, groans, and rattles; and inconsistent panel fit and alignment.

As delivered, the 2018 Tesla Model 3 Long Range we tested cost $49,000. The $35,000 Model 3 adds $9,000 for the Long Range battery option, plus $5,000 for the Premium Interior package and $1,000 for the stunning metallic blue paint.

https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1115585_2018-tesla-model-3-first-drive-review-of-less-costly-electric-car/page-3

[George II]

10. I think that Washington Post headline is incorrect, the price drop triggered the suspension...

....of trading.

[PoliticAverse]

12. No, NASDAQ halted trading due to the release of "material news". n/t

[SomethingNew]

13. This seems extremely fishy.

1. This is definitely manipulating the stock price and therefore if it isn't 100% true, he can expect the SEC to come knocking.
2. His "plan" is complete nonsense. He is going to keep all the existing shareholders if they want to stay on as investors? That is not going private and will mean Tesla will still be a reporting company.
3. His plan to open up buying and selling the stock every 6 months without listing on a national exchange is mind boggling. How would that even work? He can't use any broker dealers and can't rely on the market to set the price. If Tesla plans on setting the price, they better be ready for endless lawsuits.
4. The whole thing seems just plain nutty. Given how bizarre the proposal is, I think it is very unlikely that he has actually secured funding for this misadventure, bringing us back to Point 1.

I'm expecting serious lawsuits to come out of this series of tweets and the doubling down. I'd also not be surprised if this leads to Musk being ousted as CEO very soon.

[stopwastingmymoney]

14. I sold my stock today at 365

It went as high as 380.

Who knows if this will pan out, I also placed a buy order at 299

[JCMach1]

15. This won't end well