Tesla to raise $250m for more electric vehicles

Tesla delivered its first roadster only this month but already the electric car company is looking to raise $250 million in capital to help fund the development of even more models including an all-new sedan. Tesla wants to build a sporty electric sedan to rival midrange luxury models like the BMW 3-series and Mercedes-Benz C-class, which it plans to sell for US$50,000, about half the price of the roadster.

The roadster is also sourced from Lotus in the UK in limited numbers but the new sedan is expected to be a volume model. That’s why Tesla is preparing to build a new factory in the U.S. and to do this it will need the extra capital. Speaking with the Financial Times, Tesla chairman Elon Musk told reporters the carmaker was planning a private placement and a possible public offering in either the U.S. or London.

The most likely location for the new plant will be either New Mexico or California and production numbers for the forthcoming model are expected to tip 20,000 units per year. In comparison, Tesla only plans to build 1,000 to 2,000 units of its roadster and has managed to gather 900 deposits so far despite a number of major engineering problems during the car’s development.

Tesla is not alone in its race to develop a volume electric vehicle. At last month’s Detroit Auto Show Fisker unveiled its own plug-in hybrid saloon and earlier this month America’s ZAP announced the revival of the Detroit Electric brand to market its own range of vehicles.