Tesla Motors, a US-based maker of electric vehicles backed by car makers as strategic investors, has increased the number of shares being offered in its flotation to 13.3 million, 14% of the company, from 11.1 million to raise a potential $231m.
Tesla will issue 11.9 million shares in a primary stock sale, compared to its original plan to sell 10 million, while existing shareholders will sell 1.4 million, up from 1.1 million. Tesla still plans to sell 3.3 million shares to Toyota in a private placement.
It now plans to sell the shares for $17 each rather than the expected range of between $14 and $16 each, with a initial market cap of about $1.6bn. Tesla has raised more than $220m in venture funding from Daimler, Honda and Toyota and independent venture capital firms.