LONDON (MarketWatch) - Gentlemen, start your battery-powered engines.

Tesla Motors Inc.'s long-awaited public offering will hit the market Tuesday with a price tag of $17 a share, above the planned range of $14 to $16 a share.

Tesla Motors

"The investment is a risk for investors, but some risks pay off," Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl said. "Even if this doesn't turn out well for investors, it's good for the country that Tesla has gotten so much attention for its innovative efforts."

Leading up to the IPO, the Silicon Valley-based electric car maker increased the number of shares by 20% to 13.3 million shares. Insider holdings will constitute 1.4 million shares. The company is set to debut with the ticker symbol TSLA,

Tesla said that those selling shareholders have granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1.995 million common shares to cover for any over-allotments. The price implies an issue size of $260 million, including the possible sale of any additional shares to cover the over-allotment.

Tesla, whose top-end Roadster model sells for more than $100,000, was founded in 2003 by Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk and Chief Technical Officer J.B. Straubel.

While the sporty cars have drawn the attention of everyone from Toyota Motor Corp. TM, -1.34% and Daimler (DAI) to Hollywood and an "A-List" roster of celebrity customers, Tesla has only bled money since inception, losing almost $300 million.

In the first quarter alone, the company took a $29.5 million hit, wider than the $16 million loss reported a year earlier.

Nonetheless, the stock is likely to attract a cult following, said Scott Sweet, senior managing partner of IPO Boutique. Read full story on Telsa IPO.

Tesla is looking to stem the red ink with the roll out of a mass-market Model S sedan with its $50,000 price tag, after a federal tax credit.

Of course, Tesla is in rapid expansion mode, recently notching a $50 million investment deal with Toyota and buying a factory in a San Francisco suburb that is slated to churn out the Model S in 2012.

Tesla has already opened 11 retail stores and plans to roll out about 50 more in the next few years to support the launch of its new Sedan. On Thursday, Tesla will continue its expansion efforts in Europe with the opening of its Copenhagen showroom.