Tesla Motors Inc., raised $226 million selling shares above its forecast in the first IPO of a U.S. automaker in almost half a century.

The Palo Alto, California-based company will use proceeds to pay for new factories and acquisitions, the SEC filing showed. This is the first U.S. automaker IPO since 1956 when Ford Motor Co. joined the markets.

C.E.O. Elon Musk, put up his personal fortune for Tesla while making almost $300 million selling his shares in PayPal Inc. and Zip2 Corp., the funds will be used to fund a startup that expects to lose more money in the next two years as it tries to build a battery-powered sedan.

The sale came after at least 35 companies worldwide postponed or withdrew IPOs since the start of May as the European debt crisis sent the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index down as much as 14 percent from its 2010 high. Can this spark a new wave of innovation in the U.S. automotive sector?

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Ford Motor Company isn’t only working on making its products go green – the company is also committed to energy efficiency and saving money at the office. FoMoCo IT is launching a new program called PC Power Management, Ford will start asking its users to shutdown their computer systems overnight and on the weekends to further reduce energy. …click here to read more

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Silicon Valley automaker Tesla Motors is preparing to go public soon, two people familiar with the situation said, outlining plans to sell stock and cash in on investor appetite for green technology and interest in battery-powered vehicles.

The six-year-old start-up’s investors include Google Inc founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page.

An IPO filing from Tesla, best known for its $109,000 all-electric Roadster, is expected any day, said one of the sources. The person did not give a specific time frame.

Tesla spokesman Ricardo Reyes declined to comment on what he called “rumor or speculation.”
Source: Reuters

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The 2010 Detroit Auto Show will have a new exhibit this year, dubbed ‘Electric Avenue’. The display will feature vehicles from established automakers to new startups on the Cobo Center’s main floor, a total of 37,000 square-feet.

Doug Fox, the shows chairman told reporters that the exhibit will demonstrate “the long-term viability of the auto industry using a subject that is top of mind globally these days.”

The lights turn on January 11 through the 24th and is sponsored by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. & Dow Chemical Co., who is currently developing batteries to be used in electric vehicles.

On a side note, Dow has plans to build a $665 million, 800,000-square-foot manufacturing plant is being built in Midland, Michigan as part of a joint venture between Dow and South Korean battery manufacturer Kokam Engineering Co. Ltd. The venture received a $161 million federal grant this past summer.

Photo: AP News

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BMW’s all new Vision EfficientDynamics concept, is set to formally debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show later this month, with two electric motors, and a production-ready small diesel. The design sets the tone for a series of upcoming BMW cars and proves BMW is favoring a lighter chassis with a more aggressive look. …click here to read more

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General Motors Chief Executive Fritz Henderson announces the Chevrolet Volt, a rechargeable electric car, during a news conference at the automakers’s Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. The Chevrolet Volt — the electric vehicle General Motors Co is counting on to recharge its image with consumers — is on track to hit an unprecedented fuel economy rating of 230 miles per gallon in city driving. …click here to read more

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