Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Tesla Raises Goal in Capital Hunt and Musk Doubles Down
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
May 4, 2019

Share

DETROIT — Just one day after announcing plans to sell notes and stock to raise much-needed capital, Tesla boosted the size of its offering to as high as $2.7 billion on Friday.

The Palo Alto, California, electric car and solar panel maker said it’s increasing the offer due to the positive response from Thursday’s announcement that it would try to raise $2.3 billion.

Also, CEO Elon Musk more than doubled the amount of stock he would buy from $10 million, to $25 million.

The offer, detailed in a filing Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, includes up to $1.84 billion in notes that pay 2% annual interest and convert to Tesla common stock in 2024. Also included are more than 3.5 million new shares worth as much as $866 million. The new numbers include underwriting brokers exercising their full options to buy additional notes and shares.

Last week, Tesla reported its cash balance at the end of the first quarter shrunk by $1.5 billion since December, to $2.2 billion. Musk said during a conference call that Tesla might need to raise capital again.

The company will use the proceeds to “further strengthen our balance sheet, as well as for general corporate purposes,” the filing says.

But the offerings would raise the company’s debt from $9.79 billion to as high as $11.63 billion, with the company admitting in its filing that it may not be able to generate enough cash to make all of the payments.

Tesla’s Shares Would Have to Reach $309.83 by May 15, 2024

“If we are unable to generate such cash flow, we may be required to adopt one or more alternatives, such as reducing or delaying investments or capital expenditures, selling assets, refinancing or obtaining additional equity capital on terms that may be onerous or highly dilutive,” the company wrote in the part of the filing that discusses risk factors.

“If we are unable to generate such cash flow, we may be required to adopt one or more alternatives, such as reducing or delaying investments or capital expenditures, selling assets, refinancing or obtaining additional equity capital on terms that may be onerous or highly dilutive.” — Tesla statement

Musk likely raised his own stake to show shareholders that he’s putting more of his own money into the company and taking the same risk that he’s asking investors to, said Gartner analyst Michael Ramsey. But he’s also guarding against dilution of his ownership stake, Ramsey said. Musk is by far the company’s largest shareholder with about a 20 percent stake.

Tesla’s shares would have to reach $309.83 by May 15, 2024 for the notes to be converted to stock. That’s a 21% increase over the current price. If they don’t hit that price, Tesla is on the hook to repay the notes largely in cash, according to the filings.

In a statement on the offering Thursday, Moody’s Senior Vice President Bruce Clark wrote that the offering will give Tesla enough liquidity to pay $566 million in notes that mature in November, plus provide cash to expand distribution of Tesla’s Model 3 in Europe and cover spending needed from softening demand for all three of Tesla’s models in the U.S.

Moody’s kept a negative outlook and B3 rating on Tesla debt. That is six notches below investment grade.

In a March 30 note, the ratings agency wrote that the Model 3, Tesla’s lowest-price model, currently sells for an average of $55,000. To increase sales, the price has to drop toward $42,000, and to make enough money to pay the bills, Tesla has targeted a 25% gross profit margin on the Model 3, Moody’s said. Currently gross profits on a $42,000 Model 3 are “materially” below 25%, according to Moody’s.

California-Based Tesla Lost $702.1 Million in the First Quarter

“In order to achieve this margin target the company will have to undertake significant reductions in fixed and variable costs associated with the vehicle,” Moody’s wrote. “We expect that it will be a major challenge for Tesla to aggressively increase production/deliveries, shift the product mix toward the $42,000 price level, and simultaneously lower costs enough to achieve the 25% gross margin target.”

“In order to achieve this margin target the company will have to undertake significant reductions in fixed and variable costs associated with the vehicle. We expect that it will be a major challenge for Tesla to aggressively increase production/deliveries, shift the product mix toward the $42,000 price level, and simultaneously lower costs enough to achieve the 25% gross margin target.” — Moody’s

Tesla, Moody’s wrote, has no sustainable technical advantage over competitors. “Essentially all of the technologies incorporated in Tesla vehicles (or some similarly effective alternative technologies) will largely be available to competitors,” according to Moody’s.

The Palo Alto, California-based Tesla lost $702.1 million in the first quarter, among its worst quarters in two years. Sales tumbled 31% in the period. Musk predicted another loss in the second quarter but said Tesla would be profitable again by the third quarter.

The surprisingly large loss followed the company’s first back to back quarters of profitability.

Tesla has lost more than $6 billion since setting out to revolutionize the auto industry. Musk expects that future profits will be driven by rising sales and the arrival of autonomous vehicles dedicated to a new ride-hailing service.

Shares of Tesla Inc. rose nearly 5 percent in midday trading Friday to $255.60. They are down 23% so far this year.

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Directs All Federal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Staff Be Put on Leave

DON'T MISS

Baseball’s Newest Hall of Famers: Suzuki, Sabathia, Wagner

DON'T MISS

‘Once in a Lifetime’ Snow Hits Parts of the US South

DON'T MISS

Trump Temporarily Halts Leasing and Permitting for Wind Energy Projects

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Who Dealt Deadly Fentanyl Pill Gets 80-Month Prison Term

DON'T MISS

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

DON'T MISS

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

DON'T MISS

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

DON'T MISS

Convicted Jan. 6 Rioter Benjamin Martin Still Going to Prison

DON'T MISS

Is Lawsuit on Planned Reedley Job Center a ‘Shakedown’?

UP NEXT

CA Sued the Tar Out of Trump the First Time Around. How Did It Do?

UP NEXT

Musk’s Straight-Arm Gesture Embraced by Right-Wing Extremists

UP NEXT

As Trump Declares Border Emergency, CA’s Targeted Immigrants Lie Low

UP NEXT

Dangerous Winds Return to Southern California as New Wildfires Break Out

UP NEXT

Trump’s Executive Orders: Reversing Biden’s Policies

UP NEXT

Gusty Winds, Extreme Fire Weather Return to Southern California

UP NEXT

Trump Wants to Deport Immigrants Accused of Crimes. CA Sheriffs Could Make It Easy

UP NEXT

Trump Returns to Power After Unprecedented Comeback, Emboldened to Reshape US

UP NEXT

Trump to Release Records on the Assassinations of the Kennedys and Martin Luther King

UP NEXT

Governor Newsom Negotiates Mortgage Relief for LA Firestorm Victims

Trump Temporarily Halts Leasing and Permitting for Wind Energy Projects

8 hours ago

Fresno Man Who Dealt Deadly Fentanyl Pill Gets 80-Month Prison Term

8 hours ago

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

9 hours ago

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

9 hours ago

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

9 hours ago

Convicted Jan. 6 Rioter Benjamin Martin Still Going to Prison

10 hours ago

Is Lawsuit on Planned Reedley Job Center a ‘Shakedown’?

10 hours ago

Much of the Damage from the LA Fires Could Have Been Averted

11 hours ago

CA Sued the Tar Out of Trump the First Time Around. How Did It Do?

12 hours ago

Israel’s Top General Resigns over Oct. 7 Failures, Adding to Pressure on Netanyahu

12 hours ago

Trump Administration Directs All Federal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Staff Be Put on Leave

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration is directing that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on pai...

5 hours ago

President Donald Trump signs an executive order as he attends an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event at Capital One Arena, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Evan Vucci)
5 hours ago

Trump Administration Directs All Federal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Staff Be Put on Leave

Ichiro Suzuki in Yankee Pinstripes
8 hours ago

Baseball’s Newest Hall of Famers: Suzuki, Sabathia, Wagner

People walk past the 1900 Storm memorial sculpture on Seawall Blvd. during an icy winter storm on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in Galveston, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
8 hours ago

‘Once in a Lifetime’ Snow Hits Parts of the US South

The five turbines of Block Island Wind Farm operate, Dec. 7, 2023, off the coast of Block Island, R.I., during a tour organized by Orsted. (AP File)
8 hours ago

Trump Temporarily Halts Leasing and Permitting for Wind Energy Projects

Photo of Mexican Oxy, fentanyl laced blue pills
8 hours ago

Fresno Man Who Dealt Deadly Fentanyl Pill Gets 80-Month Prison Term

President Donald Trump talks about the Endurance all-electric pickup truck, made in Lordstown, Ohio, at the White House, Sept. 28, 2020, in Washington. (AP File)
9 hours ago

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

A Border Patrol truck rides along the border wall in Sunland Park, N.M., Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP/Andres Leighton)
9 hours ago

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

Police are investigating after a man was found shot near a Visalia shopping center and transported to Kaweah Health.
9 hours ago

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend