Tesla Going PublicTesla Going Public

Electric car maker Tesla Motors will begin selling stock to the public on Tuesday morning.

According to a story in today’s Wall Street Journal, the company will sell 13.3 million shares of stock at a proposed price of $14 to $16 per share. If demand for the stock is strong, Tesla’s offering could be increased by approximately 2 million more shares. As a result, the stock offering could ultimately raise as much as $244.8 million.

An Associated Press story says that Tesla’s initial public offering (IPO) is the first since Ford’s IPO in 1956.

Tesla hopes the IPO will help fund its upcoming Model S electric car. The company is also awash in red ink, however. It has lost $290.2 since its 2003 founding, and its first-quarter loss in 2010 was $29.5 million, but a $465 million U.S. Department of Energy loan is expected to help the company gain some momentum.

Tesla has sold 1,063 electric Roadsters since its introduction in 2008. Its goal is to sell 20,000 Model S sedans per year when the vehicle reaches production in 2012.

            Tesla’s chief engineer, JB Straubel, was the winner of the Design News Engineer of the Year award in 2009.