Hot on the heels of rumors about its dwindling cash reserves, Tesla Motors today announced its board of directors has approved $40 million in convertible debt financing, based on commitments from almost all current major investors. Tesla will use the money to accelerate production of its Roadster electric car, which has a backlog of 1200 orders.
Production will increase from ten cars per week to thirty cars per week early next year, the company said in a statement. So far only 50 examples of the electric car, which sells for over $100,000, have been delivered to customers.
“Forty million is significantly more than we need,” said CEO and investor Elon Musk. “However, the board, investors and I felt it was important to have significant cash reserves.”
On Friday, rumors broke that Tesla was down to just $9 million in cash, having depleted much of its deposit funds and $146 million in investment capital. Many analysts feel Tesla and its investors underestimated the amount of money need to launch such an ambitious project.
