Tesla Wants Lower Cost Electric Car to Beat Nissan Leaf
Tesla Motors is enjoying new freedom after having repaid the Department of Energy.
What’s next for the small electric car maker? Without government operational covenants in place, CEO Elon Musk is in a newly liberated position. That could mean selling the company, although the 41-year-old executive seems unlikely to do that in any time soon.
Earlier this month, Musk said that he doesn’t anticipate stepping away from the company for “several years,” although he admitted that an acquisition is one of the possible outcomes for Tesla. Despite that, he doesn’t see an automaker buying the brand because it seems too expensive. Instead, he said it would have to be someone from outside the auto industry.
More immediately, he is looking at offering a lower cost car to target a broader market.
“With the Model S, you have a compelling car that’s too expensive for most people,” he said. “And you have the Leaf, which is cheap, but it’s not great. What the world really needs is a great, affordable electric car. I’m not going to let anything go, no matter what people offer, until I complete that mission.”
Musk said in an interview with Bloomberg West that the car will offer abou 200 miles of range and will be priced below $40,000, set to reach consumers in “three to four years.”
But news of future products from the maker has been fragmented at best. Updates on the Model X electric crossover have been hushed — reports earlier this year suggest the car will be delayed until 2014. Instead, recent news emerging from the company has centered on the brand repaying its government loans and announcements about the Model S.
[Source: The Detroit News]
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Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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Be interesting to see e if Tesla can pull this off. It will be good for both Tesla and Nissan owns. Competition will keep both companies striving to deliver the best value to their customer base. Tesla and Nissan have made big commitments to the pure EV platform, fort he consumer, only good can come out of them going toe-to-toe.
leaf is a great affordable electric car. I don't see need for a cheap tesla. What we do need is battery add on pack for leaf to extend the range