On Wednesday morning, electric-car maker Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) said it would announce “major improvements” to its driver assist technology, Autopilot, later that day.
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Tesla states that these funds would “be used primarily for tooling, production equipment and construction of the Tesla’s Model 3 production lines, equipment to support cell production at Tesla’s Gigafactory, as well as new Tesla retail locations, service centers and Supercharger locations”.
Another eye-catching thing about the photo is the presence of steering wheel, there has been much speculation that the Tesla Model 3 would take out the steering wheel as the Model 3 is said to be self-driving.
Some shareholders and analysts have questioned the deal because Musk owns more than 20 per cent of each company.
Musk said he is now writing a blog post with more details about the new Autopilot improvements and coming software updates, and that he will publish the post on Tesla’s website later Wednesday.
Separately, Tesla plans to raise more money this year, either through an equity or debt offering, as it prepares to launch the $35,000 Model 3 auto while ramping up vehicle and battery production.
Tesla Motors Inc., which makes electric cars, disclosed in a securities filing Wednesday that it has to pay $422 million to its bondholders in the third quarter, and that it will raise additional money by the end of the year.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating a May 7 fatality in Florida in which a driver using Tesla ‘s Autopilot system crashed into a truck. In the most recent $124 million SolarCity bond issue, Musk and his cousins, CEO Lyndon Rive and Pete Rive, together purchased 80 percent of the bonds.
Tesla held a special board meeting on February 29, when its CFO made a presentation outlining the potential synergies the company could achieve by merging with SolarCity. On May 31, the Tesla board changed course and chose to pursue the merger.
That would leave the company with US$2.15 billion in cash.
At the same time, the company needs to absorb Solar City, a company that has been losing money.
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Tesla has posted operating losses in 14 straight quarters and negative cash flow since early 2014.
