Tesla Motors on May 22 said it has repaid a $451.8 million loan it received from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in 2010.
For the loan payment, the company used a portion of the about $1 billion in funds raised in last week’s concurrent offerings of common stock and convertible senior notes.
Following this repayment, Tesla said it “will be the only American car company to have fully repaid the government.”
In 2010, Tesla was awarded a milestone-based loan, requiring matching private capital obtained via public offering, by the DOE as part of the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program. The program was signed into law by President Bush in 2008 and then awarded under the Obama administration in the years that followed.
The program is often confused with the financial bailouts provided to the then bankrupt GM and Chrysler, who were ineligible for the ATVM program, because a requirement of that program was good financial health.
“I would like to thank the Department of Energy and the members of Congress and their staffs that worked hard to create the ATVM program, and particularly the American taxpayer from whom these funds originate,” Tesla’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Musk stated.
Musk stated: “I hope we did you proud.”
