Opinion: Tesla Motors IPO could by the symbol of the upcoming electric car revolution



Tesla Motors (TSLA), the niche electric car maker, had its IPO today. It raised $202 million. Tesla hasn't a made a profit since it was founded in 2003, and is expected to post losses until 2012. The market was very receptive to the stock and it was one of the few that was up today (it was up 41% today.)



If electric cars take off, this could be a very symbolic event that will be looked upon in the future. It'll be kind of like the Yahoo! IPO in the 90's, which ushered in the Internet era. The strong interest in Tesla shares indicates that investors are willing to finance this emerging industry.

On the other hand, electric cars could turn out to be a big bust. There is a lot of hype around them and it remains to be seen if they will revolutionize personal transportation.

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