Tesla’s acquisition of SolarCity receives overwhelming shareholder approval

Musk’s now-approved purchase of SolarCity for $2.6 billion and his plan to combine it with Tesla will allow the company to sell systems that generate electricity using the roof tiles to power homes and charge electric cars.

Minutes after shareholders approved the deal – about 85 percent of them voted yes – Musk told the crowd that he had just returned from a meeting with his new solar engineering team.

We’ve been hearing a lot about the Tesla – SolarCity merger recently and it’s pretty much a done deal now, after getting shareholder approval at last. He and Antonio Gracias, who also serves as director at both companies, recused themselves from a board vote on the takeover July 30.

So how is Tesla going to manufacture this premium product at a lower cost than regular asphalt tiles? SolarCity is the nation’s largest solar panel manufacturer and installation company.

For the very first time unveiled at a Tesla event on October 28, the roofing material together developed by the carmaker and SolarCity would look just like any other premium roof tiles, while also used as solar panels for power generation. The votes were the only remaining obstacle to the merger.

“We would like to thank our shareholders for continuing to support our vision for the future”. Musk said. “That’s looking really promising, and I think there’s even room for improvement beyond there”. “I think it’s really going to be some fantastic stuff that comes out”.

SolarCity and Tesla shares were up for the day in after-hours trading.

In the start of November, Mr. Musk put the ball in the investor’s court, forecasting that SolarCity could add $1 billion of extra revenue to Tesla next year, notwithstanding it having been loss-making until now.

Musk received a boost for the SolarCity deal earlier this month when Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recommended that investors in both companies approve the deal. “That they are separate at all, despite similar origins and pursuit of the same overarching goal of sustainable energy, is largely an accident of history”. Tesla has predicted SolarCity will add $500 million in cash to the combined company’s balance sheet in the coming years, which would be a sharp reversal from recent trends should it happen.

Tesla shares rose 2.6 percent to close at $188.66 Thursday.