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Tesla is staying public at this time

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Most of Tesla’s existing shareholders believe Tesla is better off as a public company. Elon Musk is leaving Tesla as a private company for now.

Given the feedback I’ve received, it’s apparent that most of Tesla’s existing shareholders believe we are better off as a public company. Additionally, a number of institutional shareholders have explained that they have internal compliance issues that limit how much they can invest in a private company. There is also no proven path for most retail investors to own shares if we were private. Although the majority of shareholders I spoke to said they would remain with Tesla if we went private, the sentiment, in a nutshell, was “please don’t do this.”

* I [Elon] knew the process of going private would be challenging, but it’s clear that it would be even more time-consuming and distracting than initially anticipated. This is a problem because we absolutely must stay focused on ramping Model 3 and becoming profitable. We will not achieve our mission of advancing sustainable energy unless we are also financially sustainable.

* That said, my [Elon] belief that there is more than enough funding to take Tesla private was reinforced during this process.

* After considering all of these factors, I [Elon] met with Tesla’s Board of Directors yesterday and let them know that I [Elon] believe the better path is for Tesla to remain public. The Board indicated that they agree.

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