Elon Musk Appoints Financial Giant Morgan Stanley To Take Tesla Private

Tesla Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Musk has forged ahead in the last decade with one bold initiative after another, from projects related to space exploration to a zero-emissions underground public transportation system. His most well-known work centers around Tesla, however, which has led to the production of cars that are laying the groundwork for sustainability in the automotive industry.

In an effort to solidify a place in the market for Tesla, Musk recently announced that he would be partnering with influential investment banking and financial services company Morgan Stanley to go private. The move is also being seen as a protective measure for the electric vehicle firm.

Early news of privatization efforts

News of the privatization began two weeks earlier with a few of Musk's famous short and to the point tweets in which he announced that funding for the move was "secured." He also sought to reassure investors.

Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 7, 2018

My hope is *all* current investors remain with Tesla even if we’re private. Would create special purpose fund enabling anyone to stay with Tesla. Already do this with Fidelity’s SpaceX investment.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 7, 2018

The latest news regarding the financial giant comes on the heels of a previous announcement revealing partnerships with several other industry titans such as the Goldman Sachs Group, as well as legal powerhouses Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Munger, Tolles & Olson as legal advisors. It seems Musk is well-surrounded.

I’m excited to work with Silver Lake and Goldman Sachs as financial advisors, plus Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Munger, Tolles & Olson as legal advisors, on the proposal to take Tesla private

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 14, 2018

Silencing the doubters

Model 3 is now the best-selling mid-sized premium sedan in the USA pic.twitter.com/xI7LsgRI6D

— Tesla (@Tesla) June 5, 2018

The move may be an attempt to silence doubters who, despite the unprecedented success of Tesla among customers, continue to ponder about the firm's capacity to maintain its status. The reasons cited range from concerns about an inability to keep up with demand for the cars as well as the market's inherent instability (market shares are currently at 320.10, a 0.5% decrease) specifically related to the Model 3. 

[see-also]

Musk recently also took to his Twitter account and Tesla blog to explain what he meant when he first wrote the words "funding secured." He then publicly shared that his up-to-then secret potential funder was the Saudi Arabia sovereign wealth fund.

Musk explained the motivation behind his latest tweets disclosing his desire to include all stakeholders in privatization decisions. "It wouldn’t be right to share information about going private with just our largest investors without sharing the same information with all investors at the same time," he wrote in his blog. 

Perhaps in his own way, Musk is attempting to quiet the critics in the finance sector while remaining true to his loyal supporters. For the foreseeable future, the battle of disclosure and transparency versus independent and unrestricted growth will continue.