Elon Musk was furious with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) for not making public that it had told Tesla it was interested in helping to take the company private. Musk ultimately abandoned his attempt to take Tesla private several weeks after the now-infamous tweet.
Elon Musk’s August 7, 2018 tweet informing the public that he was considering taking Tesla private is considered entirely truthful.
The head of Saudi PIF committed unequivocally to take Tesla private with me, as witnessed by the Tesla CFO and several others. That is why I said funding was secured.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 25, 2022
Elon Musk faced a class-action lawsuit from disgruntled investors, who believe they have been wronged and punished by the billionaire’s tweet. A jury trial is expected to begin on May 31, 2022, according to the lawsuit. A settlement between the two parties cannot be ruled out, but no decision has been made yet.
Prior to Musk’s attempt to take Tesla public, the PIF held a significant amount of Tesla stock. However, it sold 99.5 percent of its holdings in 2019, foregoing a windfall if the share price rose in 2020.
