Tesla Repays DOE Loan

Electric vehicle maker Tesla Motors Inc. says it has repaid the remaining $452 million it owed on a $465 million loan from the U.S. Dept. of Energy nine years ahead of schedule.

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company raised $1.1 billion last week by selling convertible notes and common stock, which provided the cash to retire the loan.

The DOE loan program has drawn heavy criticism because some of its beneficiaries have gone bankrupt, including battery makers A123 Systems and Ener1, specialty van maker Vehicle Production Group and solar panel firm Solyndra.

Other recipients such as Ford Motor and Nissan are repaying their loans on schedule in installments spread over 10 years.

Tesla touts its accelerated payment feat, calling itself the only American company to have "fully repaid" the government. Chrysler Group is crying foul, noting it completely repaid its $7.5 billion bailout loans from the U.S. and Canada two year ago.

But Fisker points that although Chrysler repaid the loan portion of its federal bailout, it did not repay the full $12.5 billion it received. The Dept. of the Treasury took a $1.3 billion loss on the deal.