Musk Says Tesla Surge Sparked Fundraising for Loan Repayment
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Elon Musk, Tesla Motors Inc.’s chief executive officer and co-founder, said his realization the electric-car maker could retire its U.S. loan nine years early didn’t arise until Tesla shares unexpectedly surged this month.
The carmaker, based in Palo Alto, California, yesterday paid the Energy Department $451.8 million left on an Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing loan awarded in 2009 to develop and build Model S sedans. Repayment funds were raised from a $1 billion share and debt sale, $300 million more than the company initially thought it could get, Musk said.