Tesla Goes on Truck and Trailer Shopping Spree With $14M Worth of Common Stock

It appears that Tesla is looking to set up its own in-house logistics chain to amplify vehicle deliveries.

byRob Stumpf|
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A filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission initiated by Tesla on Monday revealed that the electric automaker has arranged for the purchase of an unknown number of semi trucks and trailers for yet-undisclosed reasons.

The SEC filing allots for up to 49,967 shares of common stock to be distributed in accordance with the sale, each worth $284.14 at the time of filing. In all, the shares have an intrinsic value of up to $14,197,623.38 at present-day pricing.

Tesla wrote in its filing with the SEC:

"As part of Tesla’s ongoing logistics strategy to increase its vehicle transport capacity, reduce vehicle transportation time, and improve the timeliness of scheduled deliveries, Tesla agreed to issue shares of Tesla’s common stock in connection with its acquisition of certain car-hauling trucks and trailers from Central Valley Auto Transport, Inc. (“Central Valley” or the “selling stockholder”), an automotive transport provider. We are registering these Tesla shares pursuant to registration rights granted to the selling stockholder in connection with the acquisition."

During Tesla's busy third quarter in 2018, CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter in an apologetic manner, letting the public know that the company was going through "logistics hell" as part of its Model 3 ramp up. He later announced that Tesla was working to build its own car carriers in an attempt to resolve the problem. However, it's not clear if those carriers were ever registered through the Tesla marque, or if they ever made it to public streets.

Two months later, Musk stated that Tesla had purchased some trucking companies to aide in the deliveries of its vehicles, but did not elaborate on the matter any further.

Monday's SEC filing shows that Tesla has purchased a number of trucks and trailers from Central Valley, but is not worded in a way that states Tesla outright purchased the entire company. It's also unclear how many trucks and trailers Tesla purchased; however, used listings appear to point at $60,000-$75,000 being a relatively average price point for a used two-story open auto carrier, plus the cost of the truck on top which can vary greatly depending on a number of factors.

At this time, the number of trucks and trailers being operated by Tesla is unknown. That being said, with Tesla's recent push for decentralized sales of its vehicles, it's possible the automaker is also looking to streamline its delivery options. By operating its own trucks, Tesla could essentially alleviate any logistics concerns it may have had previously, especially if the fleet is large enough to handle its supply across the nation.

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