Being an investor in Elon Musk’s electric automaker, Tesla, is a little like going for a ride in one of the company’s high-speed sedans. Every once in a while, the driver activates “Insane Mode,” and you had better be buckled up.
Tesla’s latest unexpected turn came Tuesday, when the Palo Alto, Calif. company announced an offerto buy SolarCity, a struggling home solar firm in which Musk is chairman and the largest investor. The all-stock deal, worth roughly $2.8 billion, came as a shock to many observers despite Musk’s close ties to SolarCity, the country’s biggest installer of residential solar panels.
