SolarCity Corp. IPO electrifies

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Photo: Spencer Brown

SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive has a lot to smile about. On its first day of trading, his company's stock price was up nearly 50 percent. 

Lindsay Riddell

Reporter- San Francisco Business Times

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The solar industry can breathe a sigh of relief as SolarCity Corp.’s public offering finally debuted Thursday.

The San Mateo-based solar installer raised $92 million, debuting at $8 a share. Its stock price jumped nearly 47 percent to close at $11.79.

SolarCity is trading on the NASDAQ under the symbol SCTY.

The company’s offering had been expected for Wednesday morning but was delayed for unknown reasons. SolarCity initially targeted a $13-$15 debut price but had to temper expectations prior to the offering. It reduced the price even after SolarCity Chairman Elon Musk (also the CEO and Chairman of Tesla Motors and SpaceX) indicated in a public filing that he’d buy 15 million shares of the company.

SolarCity was started by Musk’s first cousins Lyndon and Peter Rive. The company has grown to more than 2000 employees since its 2006 founding by the Rive brothers. It pioneered the solar lease, which made solar affordable for homeowners who may not have been able to pay outright for solar systems.

But SolarCity’s model relies heavily on a 30 percent federal tax credit offered on renewable energy systems. The Internal Revenue Service is auditing SolarCity and the Treasury Department is investigating whether SolarCity’s system costs – and therefore how much the government has shelled out in tax credits – is fair, according to the company’s SEC filings.

Industry watchers say a successful outcome for SolarCity in that investigation could boost its stock.

Lindsay Riddell covers energy and cleantech for the San Francisco Business Times.