Shareholder lawsuits threaten Tesla’s US$2.6 billion SolarCity deal

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

Tesla Motors’ US$2.6 billion purchase of SolarCity has come under attack from shareholders as four lawsuits were filed in the first weeks of September alleging the company’s board members have breached their fiduciary duties.

According to a regulatory filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the lawsuits are brought by a police pension fund, a teachers’ retirement group, and two individuals, and variously name certain members of the SolarCity board as defendants as well.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

“In some cases, SolarCity and members of the SolarCity Board aided and abetted breaches of fiduciary duties and that certain individual defendants would be unjustly enriched by the proposed Merger,” it said.

Tesla dismissed the allegations in the filing, but noted litigation may yet delay, or even derail, the proposed merger, which is scheduled to complete before the end of the year. “Tesla believes that the Actions are without merit,” it said in the filing. It said in a press statement, however, the litigation is unlikely to succeed, or hold up the SolarCity arrangement.

A hearing is scheduled for 18 October.

Tesla posted its thirteenth consecutive quarterly reverse in the quarter ended 30 June, shedding US$293.2 million in the period, equivalent to US$2.09 per share. Its revenues finished at US$1.27 billion, up 33% on the same period of the previous year. Nevertheless, Elon Musk, the biggest shareholder in both Tesla and SolarCity, reckons the SolarCity deal could create a US$1 trillion company.

Meanwhile, SolarCity has continued to slash its guidance for the year, with shares trading nearly a third down on Tesla’s valuation in August.

21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.

Read Next

October 6, 2025
An expert panel has identified a series of grid failures that led to April's unprecedented power outage in Spain and Portugal, ruling out renewables as the leading cause.
October 2, 2025
FRV Australia has announced the completion of its largest solar project to date, the 300MW Walla Walla Solar Farm in New South Wales.
September 30, 2025
SynergyRED, a wholly owned subsidiary of Synergy, has submitted a development application for a 2GW hybrid renewable energy project in Western Australia's Mid-West Region.
September 29, 2025
Burns & McDonnell examines the outlook of the utility-scale solar sector amidst the latest policy and tariff changes.
September 26, 2025
Residential solar and energy storage could meet all the projected demand from US data centres over the next five years if tech companies invest in household energy infrastructure.
September 26, 2025
Global grids have failed to keep pace with renewable energy technologies and have become the “bottleneck of the energy transition”, according to a new policy report from the Global Solar Council (GSC).

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland