Tesla issues stock for trucks and trailers to bolster deliveries
It's issuing almost 50,000 shares, equivalent to about $14 million.
While Tesla's sales model is currently a bit… schizophrenic, the automaker has held firm that it needs to continually improve its delivery process, and according to a new SEC filing, it's following through on that promise.
Tesla filed documents with the SEC today to register 49,967 shares of Tesla common stock. The shares carry a value of approximately $14 million ($13,843,346.35 if you dig precision). The money is being used to bolster the delivery side of its sales operations.
"Tesla agreed to issue shares of Tesla's common stock in connection with its acquisition of certain car-hauling trucks and trailers from Central Valley Auto Transport, Inc., an automotive transport provider," the automaker wrote in its SEC filing. The filing states the company made this move in order to "increase its vehicle transport capacity, reduce vehicle transportation time, and improve the timeliness of scheduled deliveries." Tesla did not immediately return a request for further comment.
Tesla has been very cagey when it comes to discussing specifics of its delivery logistics.
A quick trip to Central Valley Auto Transport's website shows that the company specializes in the usual type of vehicle delivery trucks you see patrolling streets across America. It has a three-figure fleet of carriers that can accommodate between one and nine vehicles.
This filing provides a bit more information than previous comments regarding boosting its delivery capacity. Last November, CEO Elon Musk tweeted that Tesla "just acquired trucking capacity" to ensure it could deliver as many Model 3 EVs as possible ahead of a federal tax incentive reduction. At that time, the automaker declined to discuss specifics. It also played into Tesla's strategy to reduce reliance on train-based car transport, which, according to Musk's tweets, can take longer to deliver vehicles to far-off corners of the US than trucks can.
Tesla said in its fourth-quarter earnings call that it hopes to deliver between 360,000 and 400,000 Tesla vehicles in 2019, a 45-to-65-percent increase from 2018. Scooping up trucks like those from Central Valley Auto Transport should help it reach that goal.
(Hat tip to Electrek!)
