SAN CARLOS, CA --- Electric vehicle maker Tesla Motors, based in California, plans to go public soon, according to a report from Reuters.

An IPO is expected any day, reported Reuters, citing unnamed sources. Tesla spokesman Ricardo Reyes declined to comment on what he called "rumor or speculation."

If the report is true, Tesla would mark the first public offering from a U.S. automaker since Henry Ford's Ford Motor Co. debuted its shares in 1956, Reuters reported. 

Tesla Chairman Elon Musk said early last year that an IPO was a possibility in either late 2008 or 2009. But the global financial crisis in the latter half of 2008 virtually shut down the IPO market. The appetite for IPOs has started gaining strength since mid-September this year with a string of new filings.

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