Tesla Repays Government Loan Ahead of Schedule

By Cynthia Herbert :: 3:31 PM

Electric automaker Tesla Motors has announced the payoff of a 2010 U.S. Department of Energy loan.

In 2010, the company was awarded the loan, which required matching private capital obtained via public offering, as part of the U.S. government’s Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) program. Coupled with previous payments made in 2012 and earlier this year, yesterday’s payment of nearly $452 million repays the full loan amount with interest. The payment was facilitated using a portion of the approximately $1 billion in funds Tesla raised in last week’s concurrent offerings of common stock and convertible senior notes.

“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 founder Elon Musk said in a press release. “I hope we did you proud.”

While a Tesla Motors press release initially claimed that the company was the only U.S. automaker to fulfill loan obligations to the U.S. government, automaker Chrysler countered this claim today, noting that two years ago, Chrysler repaid (in full and with interest) loans issued to it by both the U.S. and Canadian governments. Chrysler’s loans were paid about six years ahead of schedule.