George S. May Business Blog

Tesla “not looking for money”, finds $82.5 million

Tesla, maker of the electric super car, has found another company to give them a bunch of money. $82.5 million to be exact. The cash came from Fjord Capital and according to Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, the cash basically just fell into their lap. “It was an opportunistic investment,” said Elon Musk today in an interview at the Frankfurt Motor Show. “We were not looking for money.”

It must be said that while Tesla was profitable in July, there’s no telling if that trend will continue as they start production of the Model S. The San Carlos, California, based carmaker has already taken a $50 million investment from Daimler in May and rumors were that the cash wasn’t going to be enough to keep the going.

The electric automaker has been approved for a $465 million loan from the DOE, but that money comes as needed, not in one lump sum.

So let us recap: Tesla has introduced an electric car that goes from zero to 60 mph in under four seconds, announced profitability a few months later, gets $465 million in government loans to build a new plant, and secures another $130 million that is said to be being used for boosting Tesla’s retail expansion of the Model S.

Tesla is currently working on a car that will run for president in 2012.

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