(New York)

Elon Musk shocked the world and the market yesterday. After several weeks of turbulent rhetoric and behavior, the CEO yesterday announced that he was seeking to take Tesla private. Musk said bluntly, “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420”, continuing “Funding secured”. The stock was trading at only $356 when he announced his intentions. There are three ways doing so would benefit Musk and Tesla. Firstly, they wouldn’t need to do anymore public equity funding issues. Secondly, he would not need to face anymore pesky questions from analysts. Thirdly, doing so would stick it to the short-sellers that Musk hates.

FINSUM: If we take a step back and examine it, Tesla does seem like the sort of company which might be better off private at this point. Just as Uber has stayed private while it has burned mountains of capital, Tesla might be wise to follow that lead.