Tesla Inc. founder Elon Musk has come out and clarified what he meant when he tweeted last week that he had secured funds to help take his electric car company private.

That announcement via Twitter last week caused considerable ripples, a short-lived suspension in trading of Tesla shares, a surge in stock price and Musk announcing that the “future is very bright.” It also led to lawsuits being filed against for breaking securities law.

Musk, often known for causing roiling the waters with grand statements, clarified Monday in a blog post what exactly was happening.

Musk explained that he has been approached several times by a Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund, regarding taking Tesla private. “Obviously, the Saudi sovereign fund has more than enough capital needed to execute on such a transaction,” he wrote, explaining that now they “were eager to proceed.”

Musk went on to say further details will be given about the transaction when they’re ready, and discussions are continuing with the Saudi fund and other investors.

Although his tweet last week now looks hasty, to say the least, Musk said it was only right that everyone knew what might be happening. Currently, Musk wrote, what’s important is determining how existing public shareholders would remain shareholders in a private Tesla.

“If and when a final proposal is presented, an appropriate evaluation process will be undertaken by a special committee of Tesla’s board, which I understand is already in the process of being set up, together with the legal counsel it has selected,” he concluded. “If the board process results in an approved plan, any required regulatory approvals will need to be obtained and the plan will be presented to Tesla shareholders for a vote.”

As has been pointed out, Tesla is still a public company and so must adhere to rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. That’s the reason Musk might be in trouble for saying “funding secured” when in fact it might not be. Even this recent blog post is no guarantee that the statement was indeed true.

Image: Heisenberg Media via Flickr