DUBLIN — For a while now, many Tesla watchers have argued that the company should consider raising cash. There were good reasons to believe this. First, despite a few good quarters here and there, the overall picture at the company has been a fairly steady cash burn as the company tries to resolve production and logistics problems and bed down a market for its more-affordable Model 3s. Second, when the calls for a capital raising began, Tesla stock was trading high and interest rates were low. Now, after steadfastly insisting that the company has no need of further capital for about two years, CEO Elon Musk has decided that, in point of fact, it does. Unfortunately, Tesla's share price has fallen from a mid-2018 high of almost $360 to about $234 today. Meanwhile, its 2025 5.3% unsecured bonds are trading at a yield of over 8%, up from around 6% in early 2018. This means that the capital raise is going to be a lot more expensive than it would have been a year ago. Tesla clearly needs additional cash to fund its promised future growth. And there is investor appetite to provide it. However, the market is saying that cash is going to come with a higher price tag now. That's the cost of avoiding the inevitable. – Felicity Duncan

Tesla looks to raise as much as $2.3bn in debt and equity

By Allison Prang

Tesla Inc. is looking to raise as much as $2.3bn through a bond sale and public offering of its shares, after a worse-than-expected quarter heightened concerns about the company's cash on hand.

___STEADY_PAYWALL___