Troubled niche car maker Tesla Motors has announced they have secured $40 million in debut financing to move ahead with production of their electric roadster. This comes on the heels of a recent financial crisis which caused the automaker's cash balance to drop below $9 million dollars.
According to Tesla's founder, Elon Musk, much of the financing came from investors and that $40 million dollars is more than the company needs, but they wanted to make sure they had significant cash reserves.
With just over 50 of the 1200 roadsters ordered so far delivered, the company has been on shaky ground financially due to problems with suppliers, the roadster's transmission and production delays. Recently the company was forced to cut nearly a quarter of their workforce, shut down their Michigan offices, and delay production of the model S sedan in order to get costs under control.
