Tesla hopes to use IPO to fund Model S 07/20/2010
The newest American car company, the electric-vehicle focused Tesla Motors, is hoping to use its upcoming initial public offering to raise a large amount of capital.
Although the company has lost money every year since its 2003 inception, the relative success of its $100,000 Tesla Roadster has led investors to highly-anticipate the upcoming IPO. Tesla has already found a partner in Toyota, which has pledged to buy $50 million of the IPO stock. The company also has the backing of the U.S. government, which gave the company a sizable $465 million dollar loan as well as offering tax credits on its electric models.
Tesla hopes to raise about $167 million from the offering, but some analysts say that they could raise quite a bit more. The money will be used to fund the company's second car, the Model S, an electric luxury sedan expected to be priced near $60,000.
The company is run by Elon Musk, best known as the founder of PayPal. Musk has staked his own sizable fortune on the future of the company, personally sinking $70 million into the venture.
The IPO will be the first by an American auto company since Ford in 1956. 