$500 million to fund Tesla expansion plans

Tesla Motors is planning to raise $500 million (£320.4 million) through the sale of shares as it looks to expand its business and increase production.

Elon Musk, the chief executive of the electric car company who already has a 22.25pc stake as Tesla’s largest shareholder, has revealed that he is hoping to buy nearly 84,000 shares.

The proposed fresh funds will be target accelerated growth, both in the US and internationally, the expansion of the store estate, the supercharger network, as well as the completion of the Tesla Gigafactory, a lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility in Nevada, which it is hoped will be operational by 2017.

Tesla has also revealed that the Model 3 electric car will be unveiled next March and is set to rival gas-guzzling peers produced by the likes of BMW, Audi and Mercedes. The Model 3 is the smaller, more affordable than its Model S, which sells in the UK for just under £50,000.

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