And even though Musk is selling junk-rated debt bonds instead of sexier investment products, his charisma was apparently enough to convince buyers to accept an interest rate less than 5 percent on the arrangement, according to the investors.
Rating agency Standard & Poor's awarded the bond issue a B- rating, according to Reuters, while separate rating agency Moody's rated it at B3—both of which put the bonds deep into junk territory. S&P also has given Tesla a B- long-term corporate credit rating overall, and said it could lower that even further depending on whether those ambitious plans wind up sucking money out of the company coffers.
"We could lower our ratings on Tesla if execution issues related to the Model 3 launch later this year or the ongoing expansion of its Models S and X production lead to significant cost overruns," Standard & Poor's reportedly said in a statement.
Still, it seems clear that even if the ratings agency's aren't quite so bullish about Tesla, investors overall are. As of this writing, the company's stock current sits around $366 dollars per share, giving it a $58.6 billion market cap—$7 billion higher than General Motors.
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