Tesla Trading Halted After Elon Musk Tweet About Taking Company Private

Trading in Tesla shares was halted on Tuesday after the Twitter account of Elon Musk, the company’s chief executive, said he had funding to take the company private.

The initial Twitter post followed a report by The Financial Times that the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia had acquired a stake in the company. The report could not be confirmed, and Tesla officials did not respond to requests for comment.

The company did not issue any official statement on the matter, but Tesla trading was halted in the early afternoon pending news.

“Am considering taking Tesla private at $420,” the initial Twitter post said. “Funding secured.”

After closing Monday at $341.99, shares reached $367.25, a gain of 7.4 percent, before the trading halt. A $420 price would represent a premium of almost 23 percent over Monday’s closing price.