Tesla’s 2010 initial public offering made it the first American automaker to go public since Ford Motor Company in 1956.
Tesla began trading on the Nasdaq on June 29, 2010, offering 13.3 million shares at $17 each. The offering raised about $226 million before expenses and made Tesla the first U.S. automobile company to conduct an IPO since Ford’s 1956 listing.
Tesla’s public-market history is notable because it initially operated at a much smaller scale than established automakers. Its valuation later expanded dramatically as investors assessed its electric-vehicle technology, battery systems, charging network, software, and potential growth.
General Motors also returned to public markets in 2010 after its bankruptcy restructuring, but that was not the IPO comparison used for Tesla’s 2010 distinction. Ford’s 1956 offering remains the relevant earlier American automaker IPO in this fact.