Elon Musk appears to be seriously considering turning publicly listed Tesla into a private company.
Musk has issued a Twitter posting saying he had already lined up the funding, and he told employees that it would relieve the electric car company of the "enormous pressure" of Wall Street's expectations.
Go deeper with GlobalData
In a letter to Tesla workers that was posted on the company's blog, Musk called his idea the "best path forward."
Musk suggested that going private would mean Tesla would no longer be pressured into making short-term decisions to appease investors.
"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," he wrote.
He also said trading its stock publicly "means that there are large numbers of people who have the incentive to attack the company."
Musk, the CEO and largest shareholder, said on Twitter that the private funding valued Tesla at $420 per share – or $72bn. He said the funding for such a deal was secured.
Musk also said that "a final decision has not been made" about the move. Any buy-out would need a shareholder vote.
Analysts note that Tesla is heavily indebted and is losing money, which could make such a deal problematic if heavy debt finance is sought.
