Elon Musk in talks with Saudi fund to take Tesla private

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said he is in talks with the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund about taking the electric car and solar panel maker private.

Mr Musk said in a blog that most of the funding would be in stock rather than debt, although he added that no deal has been finalised.

Tesla cars
Tesla cars

Investors who do not want to stay with a private company would be paid 420 dollars (£329) per share. Mr Musk said he expects that one third of shareholders would sell.

The tycoon said he left a meeting with wealth fund officials on July 31 with no question that the deal could be closed - which is why he tweeted on August 7 that funding had been "secured".

Mr Musk wrote that since August 7, the fund's managing director has expressed support subject to due diligence.

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