• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Tech

Tesla raised a whopping $738 million in its stock sale

By
Katie Fehrenbacher
Katie Fehrenbacher
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Katie Fehrenbacher
Katie Fehrenbacher
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 20, 2015, 1:42 PM ET
Photograph by Johannes Eisele — AFP/Getty Images

Tesla raised $738 million from a stock sale, which closed on Wednesday, according to a regulatory filing, far exceeding the electric carmaker’s original estimates.

The company originally was looking to raise closer to $500 million last week, and then boosted that number to about $650 million a day later by agreeing to sell more shares. The reason for the higher amount is that the underwriters of the secondary stock sale — which included Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, Bank of America and Wells Fargo — exercised their options to buy additional shares.

All in all, Tesla sold 2.69 million shares plus an additional 404,000 to the underwriters. Tesla’s billionaire CEO Elon Musk also planned to spend $20 million buying shares in the deal.

Tesla plans to use the proceeds of its stock sale to help pay for its massive spending spree as it attempts to grow into a big — and eventually profitable — business with multiple product lines. The company is planning to introduce its SUV Model X next month, it’s designing its Model 3 car, it’s building a huge battery factory near Reno, Nevada, and it’s scaling up its grid battery business, which will sell batteries to utilities, companies and homeowners to connect to the power grid.

As part of its expansion, Tesla (TSLA) is planning on spending $1.5 billion in capital expenses this year. It’s “a staggering” amount of money, as Musk put it in an earnings call earlier this year. But with the investment, Musk has said he thinks Tesla can eventually become a company that is as valuable as Apple (AAPL), which currently has a market capitalization of $643 billion.

Tesla has already raised billions of dollars in debt and equity in recent years. Even if all goes well, Tesla likely won’t be regularly profitable until 2020. In its most recent earnings call, Tesla lowered its annual car shipment guidance from 55,000 cars in 2015 to between 50,000 and 55,000 this year.

For more about Tesla, watch this Fortune video:

About the Author
By Katie Fehrenbacher
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
Fortune Secondary Logo
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

iran
Middle EastMiddle East
Iran’s revenge: drones damage data centers for Amazon Web Services, reveal west’s Achilles Heel
By Kelvin Chan and The Associated PressMarch 3, 2026
8 hours ago
Photo of Jamie Siminoff
LawGoogle
Ring CEO Jamie Siminoff believes if people had more doorbell cameras, we may have already ‘solved’ the Nancy Guthrie case
By Catherina GioinoMarch 3, 2026
8 hours ago
AIIran
Trump’s strike on Iran and the new breed of AI wars mean bombs can drop faster than the speed of thought
By Jake AngeloMarch 3, 2026
10 hours ago
Illustration of ships on fire
EconomyU.S. economy
Top economist says companies are close to a ‘Cortés moment’ on AI, referencing the conquistador who burned his boats and then invaded Mexico
By Nick LichtenbergMarch 3, 2026
11 hours ago
snow
North Americasnow
AI that you can get behind: Syracuse claims snow complaints have dropped 30% since it partnered with the right GPS tech firm
By Jeff McMurray and The Associated PressMarch 3, 2026
11 hours ago
A Boston police officer uses radar to track speeding vehicles
CybersecurityAmazon
Cities join Amazon in cutting ties with license-plate reader Flock following public outcry. ‘Your privacy is totally fine,’ says Ring CEO
By Catherina GioinoMarch 3, 2026
11 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Interest on the $38.8 trillion national debt has tripled since 2020, and it already costs taxpayers more than defense and Medicaid
By Nick LichtenbergMarch 2, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Middle East
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard controls a sprawling business empire that dominates the economy
By Jason MaMarch 2, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of March 2, 2026
By Danny BakstMarch 2, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, March 3, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMarch 3, 2026
16 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Middle East
U.S. military gives Iran a taste of its own medicine with cheap copycat Shahed drones, while concern shifts to munitions supply in extended conflict
By Jason MaMarch 1, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
AI
American schools weren’t broken until Silicon Valley used a lie to convince them they were—now reading and math scores are plummeting
By Sasha RogelbergMarch 1, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.