Tesla Motors to go public

[wtmusic]

"For the first time in more than fifty years, a U.S. automaker is holding a public offering. Henry Ford made shares of Ford Motor Company public back in 1956. Tesla, the Elon Musk-owned Silicon Valley electric car company, filed to do so today. There's no word as to when the shares will be available for public consumption, nor any word as to how much each share will cost.

As for the timing of the filing, Telsa has sold nearly 1,000 (987 at last count) all-electric Roadsters in 18 different countries. Moreover, it has taken 2,000 reservations for its upcoming, more mainstream Model S, which is still at least a year away from production. With the production version of the Chevrolet Volt right around the corner, Tesla is looking to capitalize (quite literally) on the "growing interest in green technology and battery-powered vehicles." Should you buy? Don't ask us. However, King Midas-fingered whiz kids Sergey Brin and Larry Page (you know, the guys that founded Google) have already invested."

http://green.autoblog.com/2010/01/30/tesla-files-with-the-feds-for-ipo/

[HeresyLives]

1. Oooh good! I'm in!

:loveya:

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

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[HeresyLives]

4. So don't invest. I don't mind.

If Americans don't back these things, others will.

[bhikkhu]

9. Yes, it does raise some questions

Its very possible for companies such as Tesla to run themselves into the ground developing technology, and burn through a ton of public money in the process. Going public can be a massive windfall for the original investors, with no guarantees that the company will deliver another product to the market. Not to be a wet blanket, as they have been pioneers, but anyone who remembers the fuel cell companies going public with great fanfare ten years ago would still have large reserve of skepticism.

[Peregrine]

3. Tesla is stopping production

of the roadster until 2012 due to the factory in England is shutting down to retool.

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

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[HeresyLives]

6. You mean like GM?

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

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[HeresyLives]

8. Yeah, for a century, and still needed help.

So I don't mind Tesla getting some.

Investors make money backing new things.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

13. Fill me in?

I am guessing the deleted arguments were something along the lines of "If you don't drive GM - Fuck You"?

[tinrobot]

10. So, they won't sell any cars for at least a year?

Hope they have a big pile of cash.

[wtmusic]

11. That's probably why they're going public

However, if I was an investor it would make me skittish knowing they're going to be unprofitable for that long.

[kristopher]

14. Is $465,000,000 a start?

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/06/23/the-government-comes-through-for-tesla-with-a-465-million-loan-for-its-electric-sedan/

The Government Comes Through For Tesla With A $465 Million Loan For Its Electric Sedan

by Erick Schonfeld on June 23, 2009

In an announcement today at Ford’s research center in Dearborn, Michigan, the U.S. Secretary of Energy will be giving details about the first loans to come out of the government’s $25 billion program to help auto manufacturers. Ford got a $5.9 billion loan, but Tesla Motors, Silicon Valley’s electric car manufacturer, is receiving $465 million from the program. The money will go towards completing the development of its Modern S sedan and its electric power trains, which are being licensed by other car makers such as Mercedes. Last month, Mercedes’ parent company Daimler also invested $50 million for a 10 percent stake in Tesla. That brought the total debt and equity invested in the company to more than $200 million. Now, with the government loan, that brings the total capital raised to $700 million.

If the government is going to be giving out loans to help car makers produce more fuel-efficient vehicles, it is good to see some of that money trickle down to helping electric cars get off the drawing table and into driveways. Tesla plans to use $365 million of the loan to accelerate the production of its Model S sedan, and the remaining $100 million for its electric power train manufacturing plant in California, for which its is in the final stages of negotiating a lease...

[elocs]

12. I read it here this morning:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=114x75173 Nice picture though.