Tesla shares soar after Elon Musk floats plan to take company private

Musk tweets plan as it emerges Saudi Arabia has built up $2.9bn stake in tech giant

Elon Musk has launched a campaign to take Tesla private on a day that included several provocative tweets, a suspension (and resumption) of trading in the company's shares, reports of a significant Saudi investment, a surge in stock price, and an evocative, Musk-tinged appeal to the Tesla faithful: "The future is very bright and we'll keep fighting to achieve our mission."

The ride started with Tesla's stock rising more than 7% after Musk tweeted he was "considering taking Tesla private" and had funding in place to do so at a price of $420 (325) per share. Shortly afterwards, Tesla published a blogpost written by Musk entitled 'Taking Tesla private' that had been sent to all employees.

Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.

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