Detroit Free Press Reports Tesla Makes First Acquisition In Company History

Elon Musk and the state of Michigan have had a somewhat contentious history.

However, the electric car revolutionary appears to be making a big move for his company in the birthplace of the automobile.

The Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday evening that Tesla Motors Inc TSLA will acquire Riviera Tool, a Grand Rapids auto supplier. This marks the first acquisition for Tesla since it was founded in 2003.

This is the first acquisition in Tesla's history and it's a clear sign the company is maneuvering to speed up its manufacturing processes.

— Nathan Bomey (@NathanBomey) May 7, 2015

According to the Free Press, Riviera "makes stamping parts that are shipped to Tesla's assembly plant in Fremont, Calif., [and] has about 100 employees. Tesla is expected to retain those workers and eventually rename the operation Tesla Tool & Die, said the source who is not authorized to speak publicly about the transaction."

Earlier on Wednesday, Tesla posted an adjusted loss of $0.36 per share in its latest quarter and adjusted revenue climbed 55 percent to $1.1 billion. Analysts expected a loss of $0.50 per shares on $1.04 billion in revenue.

On the company's conference call, Musk touted the anticipated Tesla SUV, dubbed the Model X, saying, "We have a lot of customers that have been waiting a long time. This is really a great car. It handles like a sports car even though it's an SUV. The performance is surreal. Nothing else is comparable."

In the after-hours session, Tesla shares traded at $233.60, up 1.4 percent. Shares are up more than 9 percent over the past 52 weeks.