Tesla Raising $20M and if You’re Looking for Cash, We can Help

Elon Musk told Reuters he will try to raise $20 million from his existing investors to ensure that Tesla is able to deliver its Roadsters and continue work on its electric sedan.

The investor-turned-CEO says the company has $9 million of cash on hand, but will need more to tide it over. Musk was working on a $100 million investment round before the stock market fell off the table. When the DOW dove, each potential investor tightened up the terms, forcing Musk out of the fundraising market.

Tesla, by virtue of its high-profile product, is just one of maybe a hundred or more cleantech companies in trouble thanks to the crumbling credit market.

But we’re going to do something to help. Thomson Reuters is sponsoring a breakfast panel that will feature some of the people who can and will still be financing large cleantech projects through the downturn. And they’re not VCs.

This event is something you’ll want to be at if you need cash to build production facilities: whether that’s a solar panel manufacturing plant, an ethanol refinery or an electric car assembling facility.

Put it on your calendar: January 13th, 2009. Get an advance ticket here.