They essentially issue tender offers at a set price twice every year. "But assuming Tesla goes ahead, what could shareholders expect? The SpaceX approach works like this: Twice a year, or every five to nine months, SpaceX executives led by CFO Bret Johnsen contact a group of the company's investors—including mutual fund giant Fidelity, PayPal co-founder Luke Nosek’s Gigafund and SpaceX founder Elon Musk. Executives ask if the shareholders want to buy stock at a specific price, according to people familiar with the process. The price is set by the company, and usually follows informal conversations with a handful of investors to gauge what they might pay. The investors receive a packet of disclosures, including updated financial performance. They sometimes have less than a week to decide if they are in or out, and how much they may want to buy, in what is known as a tender offer process. The firm then goes to common stockholders, primarily employees or former employees, and whatever amount they agree to sell at that price is divided up among buyers. 'The stock has been a lot less volatile' than some other private companies, and the structure allows the company to stay private for as long as it wants"