Tesla shares jumped 5.9 percent after Elon Muske tweeted he was "considering taking Tesla private at $420" Tesla shares jumped after midday on Tuesday following a tweet by Chief Executive Elon Musk that he was considering taking the electric automaker private.
Shares were up 5.9 percent to $362.25 around 1720 GMT after spiking to $371.15 shortly after Musk's tweet: "Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured."
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The gains added to upward movement on the stock after The Financial Times reported earlier Tuesday that a Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund had built a stake of between three and five percent in the company.
Musk's tweet comes as Tesla faces continued pressure to ramp up output of the Model 3 sedan, its first effort at the middle market.
The company began hitting production targets last month after missing a series of earlier benchmarks.
Tesla shares have been on the upswing since it reported on August 1 a bigger-than-expected second-quarter but signaled that it expects to reach profitability in the third quarter and remain in the black for the foreseeable future.
Musk has cut a controversial figure on social media and beyond, apologizing last month for calling British caver Vernon Unsworth, who helped rescue 12 Thai boys from a cave a "pedo," short for pedophile, after Unsworth spoke dismissively of the Tesla chief's proposal for bringing the boys to safety.
He has also had a prickly relationship with Wall Street, apologizing last week to equity analysts from major banks after cutting them off abruptly during the previous earnings conference call.
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