8-KFinancial Events

Tesla, Inc. 8-K Report, Financial Restatement (Mar 7, 2013)

Filed March 7, 2013For Securities:TSLA

Summary

This 8-K filing from Tesla, Inc. (TSLA), dated March 7, 2013, primarily addresses a restatement of previously issued financial statements. Specifically, the company's consolidated statements of cash flows for the quarterly periods ending March 31, June 30, and September 30, 2012, require correction. The error involved the incorrect classification of certain non-cash capital expenditures, which led to an overstatement of cash flows from investing activities and an understatement of cash flows from operating activities in those prior reports. Importantly, Tesla emphasizes that this restatement does not affect its previously reported total cash and cash equivalents, consolidated income statements, consolidated balance sheets, or free cash flows. The corrected information for the first three quarters of 2012 is detailed in Note 17 of the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012, which was filed concurrently on March 7, 2013. Investors should consult the 10-K filing for the full details of the restatement.

Key Highlights

  • 1Tesla is restating its consolidated statements of cash flows for Q1, Q2, and Q3 of 2012 due to an accounting error.
  • 2The error involved the misclassification of non-cash capital expenditures, affecting presentation of operating and investing cash flows.
  • 3Previously reported total cash and cash equivalents remain unaffected by this restatement.
  • 4Consolidated income statements and balance sheets are also not impacted by this revision.
  • 5Free cash flows, as defined by the company (cash flow from operations less capital expenditures), are not affected.
  • 6The detailed impact and corrected figures for the first three quarters of 2012 are provided in Note 17 of the concurrent Form 10-K filing for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012.
  • 7PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Tesla's independent auditor, was involved in the conclusion regarding the non-reliance on prior statements.

Frequently Asked Questions

This filing is to inform investors that Tesla needs to restate its consolidated statements of cash flows for the first three quarters of 2012 due to an error in how certain non-cash capital expenditures were presented. This means those previously issued cash flow statements should no longer be relied upon.

No, the company explicitly states that this restatement has no impact on previously reported total cash and cash equivalents, consolidated income statements, consolidated balance sheets, or free cash flows. The error was purely a classification issue within the cash flow statement.

The detailed impact of the restatement on the consolidated statements of cash flows for the first three quarters of 2012 is located in Note 17 of Tesla's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012. This 10-K was filed on the same date as this 8-K, March 7, 2013.

The error involved amounts related to purchases of property and equipment that were not paid at the respective balance sheet dates. These amounts were erroneously included as cash outflows from investing activities and cash inflows from operating activities, leading to an overstatement of investing cash flows and an understatement of operating cash flows.