Monday, December 31, 2010, was the end of the lock-up period for Tesla Motors Inc., which went public at the end of June, and Draper Fisher Jurvetson wasted no time. The firm unloaded nearly $60 million worth of shares - about two-thirds of its holding - according to an SEC filing.
The firm distributed to its limited partners just under two million shares, priced at last Thursday’s closing price of $30.09 each - from four funds:
- Draper Fisher Jurvetson Growth Fund 2006, which transferred close to $17.5 million worth of shares;
- Draper Fisher Jurvetson Fund VIII, which distributed more than $39 million worth of shares;
- Draper Fisher Jurvetson Partners VIII, which distributed nearly $870,000 of shares;
- Draper Fisher Jurvetson Growth Fund 2006, which distributed $1.4 million from 47,010 shares.
(UPDATE: This post has been corrected to state that DFJ transferred the shares to its limited partners, rather than sold the shares on the market. DFJ Managing Director Steve Jurvetson said in an email that his firm has not sold any shares, nor have any of the firm’s partners.)
DFJ didn’t sell any of its shares at the time of Tesla’s IPO, according to SEC filings, and owned just under 3% of the company after the offering. VantagePoint Venture Partners owned 6.6% after the IPO.
After Wednesday’s stock sale, the four DFJ funds still own more than 650,000 shares – with two-thirds of them in Draper Fisher Jurvetson Fund VIII, which closed in 2005 at about $400 million, according to VentureWire archives.
Tesla introduced its first car, the Roadster, in 2008, then a second version last year. It plans to introduce a Model S sedan in 2012, with the goal of producing about 20,000 cars a year.
Toyota Motor Co. invested $50 million in San Carlos, Calif.-based Tesla earlier this year. The car maker also raised more than $300 million in financing from a long list of firms, including VantagePoint, the Westly Group and DFJ, and got a $468 million loan from the Department of Energy.
But the company is under pressure from other car makers who have already introduced cheaper electric cars. Tesla’s stock fell on Monday, closing at $25.55, down from $30.09, and traders were betting that it would fall more. I am not a trader, but Tesla Motors is greatly over-valued.
Tesla board member and DFJ Managing Director Steve Jurvetson, however, appears confident. He spent a little over $1.1 million on Monday to buy shares – 36,997 of them, also priced at $30.09. Since Tesla’s shares closed Thursday at $27.73, Jurvetson’s shares are still under water.
Tim Draper, Founder, Draper Fisher, Jurvetson talks venture capital investments.
Tim Draper, founder of DJF, is the visionary venture capitalist, really talks up a storm in this interview, but some of his facts about nuclear and alternative energy are off by quite a bit. Sorry Tim. He is obviously pro-stock market, buy, buy, buy. A venture capitalist as governor of California? Meg Whitman tried, and failed miserably.
COMMENTARY: If you have followed my previous Tesla Motors blog posts, you know that I am not very confident about Tesla Motor's future for a number of reasons. Many trader's in Tesla Motor's stock feel the same way, and I am sure that after the lock-up period ending December 31, 2010, a bunch of them dumped their shares. This is the main reason Tesla Motors' shares dropped nearly 16 points.
Courtesy of an article dated December 29, 2010 appearing in The Wall Street Journal's Venture Capital Dispatch
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