In an about-face, Elon Musk announced he will not take Tesla private.
“I met with Tesla’s Board of Directors yesterday and let them know that I believe the better path is for Tesla to remain public. The Board indicated that they agree,” he said in a blog post published late Friday on the company’s website.
His Aug. 7 announcement via Twitter had drawn widespread scrutiny of the proposed move, including from regulators. The Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly subpoenaed the electric carmaker following the founder’s announcement over whether, as Musk’s initial tweet indicated, the company did have funding. Neither Tesla nor the SEC commented at the time.
Musk’s blog post states that his “belief that there is more than enough funding to take Tesla private was reinforced during this process.”
The company will instead put its energy into ramping up production of its Model 3, its mass-market model that has faced delays amid production issues, and becoming profitable.
“We will not achieve our mission of advancing sustainable energy unless we are also financially sustainable,” the post states.
[Also read: Take a nap, Elon Musk: Twitter counsels Tesla’s CEO on buyout woes]
