Tesla Motors may have just muzzled electric car naysayers.
The fast-growing all-electric car manufacturer paid off a hefty $465 million federal loan from the Department of Energy — nine years ahead of schedule.
The company, which is headquartered in Palo Alto with its manufacturing plant in Fremont, wired $451.8 million to the Department of Energy on Wednesday to repay the rest of the loan it received in 2010, plus interest. The loan was part of the 2010 Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program.
According to a press release from the company, Tesla paid back the loan using a portion of the $1 billion it raised last week when the company announced stock offerings.
“I would like to thank the Department of Energy and the members of Congress and their staffs that worked hard to create the ATVM program, and particularly the American taxpayer from whom these funds originate,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a statement. “I hope we did you proud.”
This latest news from Tesla is the latest in a short series of milestones the 10-year-old company has made this year.
Earlier this month, Tesla announced that it had made a profit for the first time in its history, reporting a net income of $11.2 million for the three-month period that ended on March 31 — up from an $89.9 million loss last year, according to the L.A. Times.
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