Tesla Motors to Sell Additional $500 Million Worth of Stock

Tesla Motors Inc. said Thursday it plans to sell an additional $500 million worth of stock to help fund its current projects, including new-car development and a battery plant being built in Nevada.

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based maker of electric cars also said its billionaire chief executive, Elon Musk, plans to buy $20 million worth of the shares being offered.

Tesla’s existing stock rose $4.34, or 1.8 percent, to $242.51.

Tesla has several projects in the works, and last week the company reported that its second-quarter loss was nearly triple that from the same period a year earlier as it plowed funds into the ventures.

They include investing in the launch of a sport utility vehicle, the Model X; building a battery plant near Reno, Nev.; and developing the Model 3, a small electric car scheduled to go into production in 2017.

Tesla’s total stock-market value is about $30.3 billion, and Musk owns about 22.4 percent of the shares in a stake worth $6.7 billion, according to FactSet Research.