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Elon Musk Says He Wouldn’t Take Money From Saudi Arabia Now

Musk’s comment follows death of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Elon Musk Says He Wouldn’t Take Money From Saudi Arabia Now
Elon Musk, chief executive officer and co-founder of Tesla Motors Inc. (Photographer: Albin Lohr-Jones/Pool via Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Elon Musk, following his short-lived plan to take Tesla Inc. private, said he now “probably” wouldn’t accept an investment from Saudi Arabia’s government after the death of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Elon Musk Says He Wouldn’t Take Money From Saudi Arabia Now

The death of the critic of the Saudi government was “really bad,” the chief executive officer of the electric carmaker told Recode in an interview.

Musk has said previously that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund spoke with him several times since last year about taking Tesla private. This prompted the CEO to tweet in August that he had the funding secured to buy out shareholders. The gambit fell apart after Musk failed to line up funding, prompting an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Last month, Saudi Arabia admitted Khashoggi had been killed inside the country’s consulate in Istanbul, prompting international outrage.

To contact the reporter on this story: Elisabeth Behrmann in Munich at ebehrmann1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net

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