Tesla offers to buy SolarCity for up to $3 billion

This afternoon, Tesla made an offer to buy SolarCity. The automaker says that owning the solar power company will, "complete the picture" of making sustainable transportation more affordable and renewable. Tesla's offer is a straight exchange of stock, "an exchange ratio of 0.122x to 0.131x shares of Tesla common stock for each share of SolarCity common stock," and would be worth between $2.5 and $3 billion. If accepted, it would value SolarCity's stock at 21 to 30 percent higher than it was worth at the end-of-day today.

Adding solar energy options to Tesla's portfolio certainly makes sense. Many electric vehicle drivers certainly appreciate renewable energy, and SolarCity calls itself "America's #1 full-service solar provider." Putting the sun's energy into a Tesla Powerwall - and making it all available from one company - makes sense. 

We'll have more on this story as it develops.