What We Still Don’t Know About Musk’s Plan for Tesla

I cover Tesla Inc. and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. out of San Francisco and my head is still spinning. Elon Musk is either in the midst of pulling off the go-private deal of the century, or he’s making the best of a weak hand in a game of high-stakes poker before the company reports earnings in early November. Or, potentially, some combination of both.

Musk has shown a facility for gambling before. The 47-year-old entrepreneur and billionaire has an exceptionally high tolerance for risk and has previously maneuvered his way out of countless financial tight spots. He's also a master of distraction. But to make this one work, the man who has been insisting that he doesn’t want, or need, to raise debt or equity for his not-yet-profitable electric car maker will need to find many billions more in backing, even if he convinces existing shareholders to stick around.