It's been reported that Tesla has enlisted the help of crisis communications firm, Joele Frank

Chief executive officer Elon Musk has come under fire after his previous announcement about possibly taking Tesla private, which sent shares tumbling

A special committee formed by the ( ) board is trying to repair its bruised image by hiring a crisis communication company, Joele Frank, according to reports, after the recent controversy by chief executive officer Elon Musk to take the company private.

Charles Gasparino of Fox Business News tweeted on Wednesday:

SCOOP--to help repair its image @tesla retains crisis communications firm Joele Frank more later on @FoxBusiness $TSLA — Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) August 22, 2018

An official working with Tesla clarified the tweet by saying that it was the special committee of the board studying the go-private move that hired Joelle Frank to handle media inquiries on the proposal. Tesla itself did not hire the communications company, the official added.

In another tweet yesterday, Gasparino claimed Tesla is turning to Wall Street as it prepares to make a run towards privatization and to restructure the electric car maker.

SCOOP: @Tesla turning to Wall Street as it prepares to make a run at privatization/restructuring of electric car maker; @elonmusk retains @GoldmanSachs & Silver Lake Partners as part of the effort; @Morgan Stanley also likely to be retained in coming days more NOW @FoxBusiness — Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) August 21, 2018

The announcement by Musk in early August that he wanted to take Tesla private jolted Wall Street. The news sent shares tumbling almost 5%.

The Tesla chief executive said he had secured funding for the plan and that a Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund supported the move and was keen to proceed.

The Tesla board appointed three directors to study the plan while the SEC investigates over complaints that he misled investors.

Investment bankers are now faced with a dilemma regarding Musk's plan for Tesla, Reuters reported. They could overlook concerns about the feasibility of the deal or, alternatively, risk missing out on what could be the year's biggest and most high-profile acquisition.

and have either dropped or restricted their coverage of Tesla because of their involvement in the go-private transaction.

Shares of Tesla were at US$322.35 on Wednesday.