Tesla (TSLA) closed its stock offering with $1.7 billion in net proceeds to finance the Model 3 program

Just a week ago, Tesla (TSLA) announced a new public stock offering to raise between $1.4 billion to $1.7 billion – depending on the underwriters exercising their option to purchase additional shares – in order to finance its ambitious Model 3 production program.

In a SEC filing today, Tesla confirmed having closed the offering and that the net proceeds were “approximately $1.7 billion, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses.”

The underwriters, led by Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, had already announced their intention to purchase the additional shares available.

As disclosed in the announcement of the capital raise, Tesla will use the bulk of the proceeds to finance its new plan for the production ramp of the Model 3:

“Capital supports accelerated ramp of Model 3 Because of the overwhelming demand that it has received for Model 3, Tesla intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to accelerate the ramp of Model 3. As noted in the Company’s first quarter shareholder letter, Tesla intends to start volume production and deliveries of Model 3 in late 2017 and to accelerate its 500,000 unit build plan from 2020 to 2018. Proceeds may be used for working capital and other general corporate purposes as well.”

Tesla’s stock (TSLA) closed at $219.58 per share today. The stock price is up 6.8% since the announcement of the secondary stock offering.

Featured Image: Beautiful pictures of a Tesla Model 3 prototype in the Marin Headlands [Gallery] –  with permission courtesy of Joseph Neuman.