Some of Tesla's board members were reportedly 'totally blindsided' by Elon Musk's tweet about going private
- Elon Musk's decision to tweet that he was considering taking Tesla private reportedly caught the company's own board of directors off-guard, The New York Times reported Monday night.
- That August 7 tweet caused Tesla's stock to skyrocket to $380 per share that day.
- In the days that followed, the SEC got involved, reportedly investigating Musk's online musings about taking the company private.
- The fallout from that tweet follows an extended run of public missteps by the Tesla CEO.
Elon Musk's decision to tweet that he was considering taking Tesla private reportedly caught some of the company's own board directors off guard, The New York Times reported on Monday.
Citing two people familiar with the internal response to Musk's August 7 tweet, The Times said the Tesla CEO had sent that tweet "with little forethought."
The decision to announce the plan, which Musk has since expanded upon, via Twitter "had not been cleared ahead of time with the company's board," The Times wrote.
The reported added that "some members of the board had been totally blindsided by Mr. Musk's decision to air his plan on Twitter."
According to two unnamed people familiar with the fallout who talked to The Times about Musk's online musings, the Tesla CEO allegedly told an informal adviser that he posted on Twitter "impulsively," and said he was "not the kind of person who could hold things in," and admitted he "was angry at the company's critics."
The Securities and Exchange Commission has inquired about Musk's claims, which, if found to be untrue, could cause greater problems for Tesla chief executive.
Read more about Tesla possibly going private:
- Elon Musk reveals what he meant by his 'funding secured' tweet
- Elon Musk reveals new details about taking Tesla private, says he thought tweeting announcement was 'the right and fair thing to do'
- Elon Musk's tweet about taking Tesla private might be ethically questionable, but it isn't morally wrong
- A couple of reasons Elon Musk could actually pull off his wild plan to take Tesla private
- Elon Musk's 'funding secured' tweet could cost Tesla millions, former SEC chairman says