Tesla to raise $234 million for Model X

Electric-car manufacturer Tesla Motors on Friday announced that it plans to raise $234 million in a follow-on offering in support of its Model X electric sport utility vehicle.

The follow-on offering involves 5.3 million shares of common stock at a price of $28.76 per share, yesterday’s closing price. Reuters called the figure “more than expected.”

Tesla also granted underwriter Goldman Sachs a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 795,000 shares of common stock.

But that’s not all. Tesla chief executive Elon Musk said he plans to purchase 1.416 million shares of common stock directly from the company at the public offering price. Further, Daimler AG affiliate Blackstar Investco said it plans to purchase up to 637,475 shares of common stock from Tesla at the same price.

Tesla said it plans on using a portion of the net proceeds to fund the development of its Model X crossover vehicle, marking the second stage of the company’s product portfolio after the debut of the Roadster and Model S, the latter of which won’t see the road until 2012 or 2013.

The companymost recently hinted at the crossover model during its earnings call in February. It suggested other models on the way — a cabriolet, a van, etc. — back in 2010.

Earth2Tech’s Katie Fehrenbacher reported in January that the vehicle was still two years off; in the report she also noted that Musk was aiming for a $30,000 target price within four years. (Let’s not forget that the company is working with Toyota on an all-electric RAV4 for 2012.)