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Tesla Inc’s highly anticipated unveiling of its futuristic pickup truck suffered a setback after its “armored glass” windows shattered during a demonstration. With a starting price of $39,900, the Cybertruck’s futuristic, angular body in gun-metal grapy resembles an armored vehicle and takes aim at the heart of Detroit automakers’ profits. Musk singled out the Ford F-150, the top-selling vehicle in the United States, to highlight the capabilities of the Cybertruck.
Tesla Inc. raised $2.35 billion through debt and stock offerings that were boosted from the company’s initial plans. The electric-car maker raised $750 million of common stock priced at $243 per share and borrowed $1.6 billion through an offering of convertible bonds due 2024 at a 2 percent coupon and a 27.5 percent conversion premium, Tesla said Friday in a filing. Tesla tapped the markets again after Elon Musk overestimated the ability of the Model 3 sedan to generate enough cash for the company to be self-sustaining.
Tesla has reportedly been subpoenaed by the Security and Exchange Commision (SEC) following founder Elon Musk’s statement that he may take the company private and that funding is ‘secured.’. Tesla shares dropped by as much as 4% on Wednesday following the news of the subpoena. Tesla and the SEC have not commented on the subpoena.
Elon Musk lashed out at analysts on Wednesday during a wide ranging earnings call, leading Tesla’s stock price to fall by 5.6% on Thursday. Analysts described the call as ‘downright bizarre’ and ‘unusual.’ Musk commented, saying some of the questions were ‘boring bonehead questions.’ Musk eventually turned the conversation to questions from YouTube.
Following Tesla’s assertion that Autopilot ‘unequivocally makes the world safer’ and blaming last month’s fatal crash on a ‘crash attenuator’, the National Transportation Safety Board expressed their concerns with Tesla’s explanation. The NTSB said they are ‘unhappy with the release of investigative information by Tesla’ and are examining ‘all aspects’ of the crash including Autopilot.
Following his abrupt tweet last week about taking Tesla private, Elon Musk released a blog post on Monday saying conversations with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) left him ‘with no question’ about going private. Musk says deal talks continue. A deal would represent a bold move by Saudi Arabia in building a post-oil future.
Following recent crashes involving its electric cars and the departure of some high profile executives, Tesla is undergoing ‘thorough reorganization’ according to chief executive Elon Musk. The driver of a Tesla car involved in a recent accident claims the vehicle was on autopilot mode when it crashed. Tesla warns drivers ‘to be prepared to take action at any time’ in their vehicles.
Tesla is recalling about 11,000 Model X cars manufactured in 2016 and 2017 on a safety issue with second-row seats. The company has found the cables in the seats out of place which might cause the back seats to move forward during a crash. Tesla has received no reports of accidents related to the condition.
Tesla’s Model 3 has just passed all its regulatory requirements, two weeks ahead of schedule, and the first 30 cars are expected to be handed over to their owners at a handover party on July 28. The Tesla 3 is being marketed as a car that is priced for the mass market, Tesla has yet to release an updated figure as to how many orders they’ve received for the model but 373,000 of the Tesla 3 models have been reserved as of May. First Tesla Model 3 will roll out of the factory as soon as this Friday according to Musk.