Tesla, SolarCity Set to Announce Merger on Monday

Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O) and SolarCity Corp could announce they have agreed to merge as early as Monday, people familiar with the matter said, setting the stage for a campaign to convince the two companies’ shareholders to back the deal. Combining the clean energy car maker with the solar panel installer is a major part of billionaire Elon Musk’s strategy, who earlier in July unveiled his master plan “part deux” that calls for the combined company to offer consumers a single source of hardware to power a low-carbon lifestyle. While Musk is chief executive of Tesla, chairman of SolarCity and the biggest shareholder in both companies, a merger agreement was not certain because SolarCity had formed a special committee to review Tesla’s offer independent of the influence of Musk and other executives close to him.