Economic and financial history of the Tesla Company:
To better understand the historic stock market charts of Tesla Company shares and be able of analysing past trends it is important to know the events that marked the recent history of this company. This is what we offer here with some important dates and information from the last few decades.
- The Tesla Group was created in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning and its name was chosen in homage to the scientist Nikola Tesla.
- In 2008 Tesla motors launched the production of its first series of vehicles, the Tesla Roadster. This 100% electric vehicle was sold through the Internet via the company’s website. In four years it enabled the share price of the company to grow tenfold.
- Between 2008 and 2009 Tesla produced around 1,000 vehicles reserved in advance by American clients. It wasn’t until 2009 that the company became international with the sale of Roadsters in Europe under the name ‘Signature Edition’ with a limited series of 250 vehicles.
- In 2013 the Tesla Motors Company won the title of FUA world champion constructor in alternative energy category IIIA with its Roadster 2.5 numbered EU377 piloted by James Morlaix with Sebastien Chol as co-pilot. In the same year, the group launched a new division named Tesla Energy Group, or TEG, with the objective of designing and producing energy storage systems to equip the Tesla vehicles as well as the sale of this technology through diverse partners of the brand such as Daimler and Toyota.
- In 2014 Elon Musk opened the Tesla patents to the general public.
- In 2015 Tesla decided to diversify its activities with the launch of PowerWall, a battery designed for the residential sector, available in two different versions; 7 and 10 kWh. The group also planned to release a professional 10 kWh version of this battery for companies. Also in 2015 Tesla found itself to be in deficit despite a record number of vehicles sold and a rise of 52% in these sales with a net loss of 184 million dollars. At the same time, the group purchased the River Tool Company for an undisclosed amount, this company employed 100 people in the United States and specialised in aluminium cutting tools.
- In 2016 the Tesla group registered more than 375,000 orders after the introduction of the Tesla Model 3 with the first deliveries planned for 2017. In the same year it announced the purchase of the SolarCity Company for 2.8 billion dollars following the latter company’s difficult situation. The offer was then renegotiated at the lower price of 2.6 billion dollars.
- Again in 2016, the American financial market authorities opened an investigation of Tesla accusing the group of not informing the investors during a fund raising round of an accident that occurred due to a problem with the assisted driving system of its cars. In the same year the group announced that its vehicles still in production would all be equipped with compatible systems for 100% autonomous driving. They planned to develop the software systems during 2017 and 2018. Also during 2016 the Tesla Group announced the purchase of the German engineering company, Grohmann Engineering, for an undisclosed amount with the objective of increasing its production capacity with automated systems.
- In 2017, the group is once again number one among FIA manufacturers in the new energy category.
- In 2018, Tesla Motors announces significant losses and the dismissal of over 9% of its workforce. In the same year, Elon Musk is the target of legal proceedings following the announcement of a Tesla delisting that misled investors. Also in 2018, the group announces its profitability with $312 million in profits in the third quarter of the year.
- In 2019, the group announced the acquisition of Maxwell Technologies, a company specialising in electricity storage. In the same year, Tesla also announces the North American release of the base model of the Model 3.
How was the Tesla Motors Group financed?
The first investment that enabled the launch of the Tesla Company was that of the co-creator of PayPal, Elon Musk, who became President of the Executive Council of Tesla. He was also responsible for the initial two rounds of financing and co-directed the third round with Vantage Point Venture Partners. This last round led to the entry of new but well known investors such as Sergey Brin and Larry Page, co-founders of Google, and Jeff Skoll, previous President of the EBay Group.
In 2007 no less than 105 million dollars was raised by the group during a private financial deal whereby Elon Musk participated to the extent of 37 million dollars. Elon Musk went on to finally manage the group in 2008 following the departure of Ze’ev Drori, a Californian entrepreneur who had taken over from Martin Eberhard in 2007.
Following the launch of a network of around 3,000 superchargers that enable a full charge in less than 45 minutes, Tesla invested several billion dollars in the construction of a battery factory in Nevada to equip the Model 3. For this they had to raise around 4 billion dollars on the stock markets since 2013. It is important to note that the share price had multiplied by 11 since its quote price in 2010.
Finally, in 2017 Tesla again raised new capital amounting to 1.2 billion dollars by issuing 1.3 million ordinary shares and ceding first round convertible securities maturing in 2022.