Shares of Tesla (TSLA 4.96%) were rising sharply for a second day in a row on Friday, following news of a revised plan to raise more capital than initially stated. In addition, CFO Zach Kirkhorn reiterated the electric-car maker's guidance for a big increase in second-quarter deliveries.
The bullish run for the stock over the last two trading days followed a period of poor performance as Wall Street fretted about CEO Elon Musk's active tweeting and the company's declining cash position. A larger capital raise could help Tesla fortify its balance sheet and give it more flexibility -- and a greater cash buffer -- as it spends heavily to accelerate Model 3 production and deliveries.
Image source: Tesla.
Raising capital
On Friday, Tesla announced Friday it would raise up to $2.7 billion in its offering, instead of the $2.3 billion it said it would raise on Thursday. This includes a combination of 3.1 million shares, or up to 3.5 million shares when including additional shares available to underwriters. The company was previously selling 2.7 million shares, while offering 15% more to underwriters. In addition, it's also raising $1.6 billion through convertible debt, up from previous plans for $1.35 billion. Revamped plans for even more cash suggest there was significant interest from investors in the offering.
Tesla also said Friday morning that Musk now intends to purchase up to $25 million of Tesla stock, up from plans for $10 million previously. The Street was happy with the news, as shares climbed about 4% as of 11:50 a.m. EDT.
Pitching the stock
In a call with investors on Thursday to discuss the equity raise, Musk and Kirkhorn pitched the stock, drumming up interest in the offering.
During the call, Musk was particularly optimistic about the company's plans for an autonomous driving network, an idea that was discussed in detail at its recent Autonomy Investor Day. The Uber-like driving network, but with self-driving Tesla vehicles, will help the automaker's market capitalization rise from $44 billion today to $500 billion, Musk's forecast.
Kirkhorn also said the company still maintains its outlook for 90,000 to 100,000 deliveries in its second quarter. The midpoint of this guidance range represents a 51% sequential increase in deliveries and a 133% year-over-year increase. Reiterating its outlook more than a month into its second quarter indicates that Tesla is likely making meaningful progress toward its ambitious target for the quarter.
For the full year, it expects to deliver 360,000 to 400,000 vehicles, representing 45% to 65% year-over-year growth.
