Tesla Shares Soar 40 Percent in IPO

Electric Car News | admin | June 30, 2010 at 1:07 am

Tesla Motors shares closed a whopping 40.53% higher than their starting price of $17 a share in their first day of trade.

Trading in Tesla’s shares on New York’s Nasdaq opened at $19 on Tuesday, 12% above the $17 offer price, before closing up 40.50 per cent at $23.89.

Tesla on Monday boosted the share offering by 20% to 13.3 million shares due to strong demand.

Most analysts said the electric car company’s strong debut was to be expected, though many also cautioned that Tesla has a long way to go before becoming profitable and stable. The company must first successfully produce and market its $57,000 Model S electric sedan.

Tesla is the first carmaker in more than 50 years to go public. The last was Ford Motor Co. in 1956.