Automaker Tesla has just announced that they have finalized their merger with rooftop solar installer SolarCity. The price tag? A hefty $2.6 billion.
The merger will ultimately create a company that offers renewable energy and battery storage options for home and electric vehicles under a single brand.
CEO of Tesla Motors, Elon Musk, also serves as chairman of SolarCity; and Musk’s cousins, Lyndon Rive and Peter Rive, are the company’s co-founders. So this kind of takes the, "never do business with family" mantra and throws it to the wind.
News surrounding the merger of both companies first circulated back in June. And in their most recent statement, both companies said that “solar and storage are at their best when they are combined."
"Now is the right time to bring our two companies together: Tesla is getting ready to scale our Powerwall and Powerpack stationary storage products and SolarCity is getting ready to offer next-generation differentiated solar solutions. By joining forces, we can operate more efficiently and fully integrate our products, while providing customers with an aesthetically beautiful and simple one-stop solar + storage experience: one installation, one service contract, one phone app."
Currently, Tesla holds 93.5 percent of the merged companies, with SolarCity holding the remaining 6.5 percent.
The move to acquire SolarCity is part of Musk’s plan to “accelerate the possibility of a sustainable energy world,” which he considers an important step towards achieving this vision.
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