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Tesla Signs Deal To Buy SolarCity For $2.6 Billion

Tesla Motors, the American electric vehicle maker that requires no further introduction, has announced it will merge with solar panel company SolarCity.
Solar panels from SolarCity 1 photo
Photo: Solar City
The transaction is worth $2.6 Billion, and it will be in the form of stock options. With this deal, Elon Musk gets closer to the second phase of the Tesla Master Plan, which involves providing solutions for capturing and storing solar energy at home, for regular consumers.

As some of you already know, Elon Musk is the CEO of Tesla Motors, and he is also the chairperson of SolarCity, so the merger should proceed as smoothly as possible.

Thanks to this deal, SolarCity will be able to expand its business, as its products should become available in Tesla Motors’ network across the USA.

The transaction between Tesla and SolarCity is expected to be finalized in the fourth quarter of 2016. According to legislation, the solar panel maker has the possibility of seeking alternative proposals from other companies for 45 days, but we do not believe this will happen while Musk is the chairperson of the enterprise.

With the acquisition of SolarCity, Elon Musk will be able to bring Tesla operations to a new level, while lowering costs. Tesla representatives describe the deal as transforming itself into the world’s only “integrated sustainable energy company.”

In other words, Tesla will be the only company that sells both electric vehicles and solar panels, while focusing on providing solutions to integrate these elements together.

Furthermore, Tesla Motors also sells the Powerwall, a solution that allows customers to store energy at home, which is then used when the network is overburdened.

In the case of clients that have solar panels, or other forms of renewable energy, the Tesla Powerwall could provide sustainable power even when the eco-friendly source of energy is not available at maximum capacity.

In the case of solar panels, that happens at night, even though some solutions to counteract this problem have been developed. However, these are not as efficient as batteries for the home.
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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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