Tesla-SolarCity merger will come to a vote on Nov. 17
Elon Musk's quest to create a clean energy powerhouse will come to a head in mid-November.
Electric carmaker Tesla Motors and rooftop solar installer SolarCity both set Nov. 17 as the date of their next shareholder meetings to vote on Tesla's takeover of SolarCity, Tesla announced Wednesday.
Musk is the chairman and largest shareholder of both companies, as well as CEO of electric carmaker Tesla. Musk's cousin, Lyndon Rive, is CEO of SolarCity.
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The two companies agreed to the $2.6 billion merger in July.
Analysts and some investors have scrutinized the timing of the proposal. Both companies are burning through cash and neither is profitable.
The merger has also drawn multiple lawsuits from stockholders who are wary of Musk's involvement with both companies. Critics claim that executives have violated their legal obligation to act in the best interest of investors.
Musk says that that Tesla's takeover of SolarCity would create an end-to-end clean energy company, one that produces solar power on rooftops, stores the electricity in battery packs and powers up both houses and electric cars.
Tesla on Wednesday encouraged shareholders to approve the company's acquisition of SolarCity, arguing that a combined company would provide "the first ever opportunity to generate, store and consume energy entirely sustainably."
On Oct. 28, just weeks before the shareholder vote, Tesla and SolarCity will unveil a joint "solar roof product" that will also include Tesla's Powerwall 2.0 battery and a Tesla charger. The new product may involve the solar rooftop shingles that SolarCity announced this summer.
The solar set-up will help prove to shareholders the types of products that Tesla and SolarCity could create together, Tesla said. The car company also said it will provide additional financial details related to its plans for the combined company on Nov. 1.
Maria Gallucci was a Science Reporter at Mashable. She was previously the energy and environment reporter at International Business Times; features editor of Makeshift magazine; clean economy reporter for InsideClimate News; and a correspondent in Mexico City until 2011. Maria holds degrees in journalism and Spanish from Ohio University's Honors Tutorial College.
