Tesla Asked for Faster Repayment of U.S. Loan for Electric Cars

Agreement part of waiver of some previous loan requirements

Tesla Motors Inc., which received $465 million in U.S. Energy Department loans to develop electric cars, has been told by the agency to devise a speedier repayment schedule after getting a waiver on existing terms.

The Palo Alto, California-based company, led by billionaire Elon Musk, said today in a U.S. regulatory filing that it's been given until Oct. 31 to submit a plan for "early repayment" of loan principal.

Tesla said it received a waiver from a requirement in the previous loan agreement to maintain a specified current ratio of assets to liabilities, which measures a company's ability to repay its debts in the next 12 months.