Just today, there was an interesting article at Seeking Alpha about how much money Tesla needs to go private:
| Investor Type | Holdings % | Holdings Amount | Expected Cash Out | Expected Remaining |
| General Public | 16% | 11 | 11 | 0 |
| Institutions | 59% | 41 | 19 | 22 |
| Insiders | 20% | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| Public Companies | 5% | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Totals: | 100% | 70 | 30 | 40 |
However, there is one big missing item in this table. Tesla’s massive short interest. And that seems to be missing in everyone’s analysis. So there are additional Tesla shares that people have bought. If we assume that Institutions are general public short at the same rate as they are long, this is how the table would adjust:
| Investor Type | Holdings % | Holdings Amount | Expected Cash Out | Expected Remaining |
| General Public | 21% | 15 | 11 | 4 |
| Institutions | 74% | 52 | 24 | 28 |
| Insiders | 20% | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| Public Companies | 5% | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Totals: | 120% | 85 | 35 | 50 |
Now this changes the math a little. Instead of raising 30 billion, Tesla only needs to raise $35B – $14B provided by shorts, aka $21B.
Where will this $21 billion come from. From Elon Musk’s twitter, we know that he still expects to remain in control. This means the funding comes from at least two different investors. So far speculation abounds on where this funding comes from because Wall Street is not involved. I’ll add my speculation -> how about a couple of rich folks like let’s say Larry Page? Some friends think it could be China or the Saudis. Considering this is Tesla and Elon Musk, is must be something non-traditional. Here’s to hoping I can keep my Tesla stock without tax consequences.