Tesla First IPO since Ford

Tesla Motors, the San Carlos, Calif.-based electric car startup, has just registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a $100 million initial public offering. This could be the biggest and possibly the first public offering for a U.S. car company since Ford Motor’s IPO more than 50 years ago.

Net losses $236m, Revenue $108m

According to Tesla’s filing, the startup has accumulated net losses of more than $236 million since its inception, including $31.5 million for the first nine months of 2009 (down from $57.3 million in the same period a year earlier). Through the end of September 2009, Tesla garnered revenue of $108 million, most of it ($93.4 million) in 2009.

source: earth2tech.com

Update: Tesla Roadster replaced ?

Tesla Nixes Only Car It Sells in IPO Offering

Last week, perennial startup automaker Tesla filed its IPO with the SEC. Exciting! Except for one small thing: In a move that can only be described as questionable at best, Tesla has decided to stop selling the current generation Roadster in 2011--one year before it starts selling the Model S sedan. That means Tesla won't be selling anything for an entire year. The reason for the gap in cars, according to Tesla, is that the Roadster needs to be retooled.

Jalopnik puts it best:

So, Tesla plans to kill the only vehicle they have--a two-seater Lotus-derived electric roadster--in order to develop a seven passenger sedan that has no platform yet? And they want people to invest money in them? Does Elon Musk have a set of big Israeli balls or what?

So Tesla better hope that the Model S is ready on schedule. Otherwise, it will be just another electric car company

without a car.

source: fastcompany.com

Race For All-Electric Car Charges Ahead

Tesla plans to halt production on its signature Roadster (which costs $109,000) for the Model S, a four-door electric car at a more affordable price: $57,400. The company expects the vehicles to hit the road in 2012 and says 2,000 of the first Model S cars had been reserved with a $5,000 refundable payment.

With the Roadster, Tesla had the only highway safe electric vehicle available for the past two years. That's about to change.

Nissan [NSANY 16.86