08 August 2018 | "Taking Tesla Private": Podcast Special Edition

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Well good morning, good afternoon and good evening, wherever you are in the world, hello and welcome to the Wednesday 8th August edition of EV News Daily. It’s Martyn Lee here with the news you need to know about electric cars and the move towards sustainable transport.

 

Questions:

What happened today?
Why does Elon Musk want to take Tesla private?
What does it mean for Tesla cars?
What does it mean for other car makers?
What will it mean for you and the EV’s you want to drive in the future?

 

The following email was sent to Tesla employees today:

Earlier today, I announced that I’m considering taking Tesla private at a price of $420/share. I wanted to let you know my rationale for this, and why I think this is the best path forward.

 

First, a final decision has not yet been made, but the reason for doing this is all about creating the environment for Tesla to operate best. As a public company, we are subject to wild swings in our stock price that can be a major distraction for everyone working at Tesla, all of whom are shareholders. Being public also subjects us to the quarterly earnings cycle that puts enormous pressure on Tesla to make decisions that may be right for a given quarter, but not necessarily right for the long-term. Finally, as the most shorted stock in the history of the stock market, being public means that there are large numbers of people who have the incentive to attack the company.

 

I fundamentally believe that we are at our best when everyone is focused on executing, when we can remain focused on our long-term mission, and when there are not perverse incentives for people to try to harm what we’re all trying to achieve.

 

This is especially true for a company like Tesla that has a long-term, forward-looking mission. SpaceX is a perfect example: it is far more operationally efficient, and that is largely due to the fact that it is privately held. This is not to say that it will make sense for Tesla to be private over the long-term. In the future, once Tesla enters a phase of slower, more predictable growth, it will likely make sense to return to the public markets.

 

Here’s what I envision being private would mean for all shareholders, including all of our employees.

First, I would like to structure this so that all shareholders have a choice. Either they can stay investors in a private Tesla or they can be bought out at $420 per share, which is a 20% premium over the stock price following our Q2 earnings call (which had already increased by 16%). My hope is for all shareholders to remain, but if they prefer to be bought out, then this would enable that to happen at a nice premium.

Second, my intention is for all Tesla employees to remain shareholders of the company, just as is the case at SpaceX. If we were to go private, employees would still be able to periodically sell their shares and exercise their options. This would enable you to still share in the growing value of the company that you have all worked so hard to build over time.

 

Third, the intention is not to merge SpaceX and Tesla. They would continue to have separate ownership and governance structures. However, the structure envisioned for Tesla is similar in many ways to the SpaceX structure: external shareholders and employee shareholders have an opportunity to sell or buy approximately every six months.

 

Finally, this has nothing to do with accumulating control for myself. I own about 20% of the company now, and I don’t envision that being substantially different after any deal is completed.

 

Basically, I’m trying to accomplish an outcome where Tesla can operate at its best, free from as much distraction and short-term thinking as possible, and where there is as little change for all of our investors, including all of our employees, as possible.

This proposal to go private would ultimately be finalized through a vote of our shareholders. If the process ends the way I expect it will, a private Tesla would ultimately be an enormous opportunity for all of us. Either way, the future is very bright and we’ll keep fighting to achieve our mission.

Thanks,
Elon

 

 

Ross Gerber‏Verified account @GerberKawasaki 3h3 hours ago

More

I have no intention of selling my Tesla shares at $420 if there is a tender. The stock is worth $570 a share based on 2019 revenue. No way Elon, I'm keeping my stock. $TSLA #TeslaModel3

 

Jason Kelly on Bloomberg…

 

 

Teslarati: “Tesla shares (NASDAQ:TSLA) were boosted in Tuesday trading amidst reports that Saudi’s Public Investment Fund purchased a significant stake in the Elon Musk-led company earlier this year. The PIF’s stake is expected to comprise between 3% and 5% of Tesla’s shares, in what could be seen as yet another bold bet by Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. News of the Saudi PIF’s position in Tesla was reported by the Financial Times, citing people with direct knowledge of the matter. The position is estimated to be worth $1.7 and $2.9 billion considering Tesla’s current share price, making the Saudi Crown Prince’s fund as one of Tesla’s biggest investors. Data from Bloomberg estimates that the Saudi PIF currently stands as one of the company’s top eight shareholders.”

 

What is Saudi PIF?

It was set up in 1971 to support projects of strategic significance to the Saudi economy and until this year focused mainly on its home market. It holds about $130 billion of assets in listed Saudi companies, including stakes in Saudi Basic Industries Corp., the world’s second-biggest chemicals manufacturer, and National Commercial Bank, the kingdom’s largest lender.

The fund aims to increase its assets to $400 billion by 2020 from $230 billion currently.

 

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