Tesla returns to amaze Wall Street by announcing a maxi capital increase. Through a document presented to the regulators, the company led by Elon Musk has disclosed a plan it plans to offering $2 billion of common stock to the market.
Specifically, Tesla will offer the market 2,65 million shares of common stock through underwriting banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, with estimated gross revenues of $2,3 billion. The proceeds from the operations will be used to improve the company's equity situation.
According to intentions, Musk will buy $10 million in new stock, while Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle and member of the board of Tesla, will buy securities for 1 million dollars.
The announcement surprised – and not a little – the market, given that just two weeks ago Elon Musk said Tesla did not plan to raise any more capital. "It makes no sense to raise capital because we expect to generate cash despite this level of growth," said the CEO.
The novelty immediately sparked the reaction of Wall Street investors. In the pre-Stock Exchange of February 13, the Tesla stock managed to lose 6% and then closed the session with a rise of 4,78% to 804 dollars. In the pre-Stock Exchange of 14 February the shares dropped 1,55% to 791,50 dollars.
It should be emphasized that in the last six months the Tesla stock has gained 225% of its value, while since the beginning of the year the increase is equal to 83% for a capitalization of 144 billion dollars. Despite the rally, the trend was not without sudden declines which caused heavy losses for investors.
These movements have attracted the attention of Sec who decided to open an investigation last December on financial communications and on the company's contracts following the request of a group of jurists who asked for greater transparency on the operations of the traders. It is not the first time that Tesla has been targeted by the Sec. In 2018, the investigation concerned Elon Musk's intention to delist Tesla. An investigation that ended with a fine of 20 million euros and the inhibition of Musk himself from holding the role of CEO for three years.
