Tesla announces plans to sell up to $5B in new stock shares

DETROIT — A day after its 5-for-1 stock split took effect, Tesla is announcing plans to sell up to $5 billion worth of common shares.

The electric car and solar panel maker says in a filing with securities regulators that it intends to sell up to 10.03 million shares and use the proceeds for unspecified general corporate purposes.

The sales would be made “from time to time” and Tesla says the actual amount of the offering can’t be determined at present.

The stock would be sold through 10 brokerage houses, and each would get a 0.5% commission.

Tesla shares rose 2.1% in premarket trading today after the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It closed Monday at $498.32.

As of June 30, Tesla had $8.6 billion in cash and roughly $8.5 billion in debt excluding vehicle and solar panel financing. The company has to finance some big-ticket capital spending this year because it’s building a new factory in Germany and has plans for an additional plant outside of Austin, Texas. It’s also gearing up to roll out its new “Cybertruck” pickup and a semi sometime next year.

Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, SG Americas, Wells Fargo and BNP Paribas are listed as the sales agents.