Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)
Tesla to Produce ‘Affordable EV’ by 2016 (DesignNews)
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) plans to roll out a “compelling, affordable electric car” that will sell for about half the price of its high-profile Model S by the end of 2016, company chairman Elon Musk said last week. “We definitely need to be able to bring a lower cost car to market,” Musk said at the company’s recent annual shareholders’ meeting. “Hopefully, in about three to four years we will be able to do that.” Musk’s statement was consistent with past comments. In 2012, he predicted that half of all cars on the road would be fully electric within 12 to 15 years. Last week, he added that an affordable EV “has really been my goal since the start of Tesla.”
What Is Tesla Motors Really Worth? (DailyFinance)
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has had a meteoric rise in 2013, driven by a surprise profit in the first quarter. This rise has brought the company’s market cap to $11.8 billion; lofty considering the fact Tesla only makes about 20,000 vehicles per year. …To get a ballpark idea of what Tesla could be worth we need to look at production plans and eventual profits. It plans to sell 20,000 Model S sedans, and when the Model X begins production next year there may be another 15,000 vehicles produced. If we assume the average Model S sells for about $75,000, and that the Model X will sell for about the same, and that Tesla can generate the 25% gross margin Elon Musk predicts, then the company could generate a $656 million profit.
Tesla to dramatically expand Supercharger network (Gizmag)
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), makers of fine electric performance vehicles, recently surprised the mainstream with news its Model S performance sedan had surpassed Mercedes S-Class, Audi A8 and BMW 7-series in sales for the first quarter in the US. For a company that only released the Model S last June, news of this exponential interest was not only surprising but worked to further validate consumer interest in a fully electric vehicle. On top of the surprising sales figures, media sources like Consumer Reports proclaimed Tesla’s Model S to be one of the “best cars they’d ever tested.” With positive feedback and increasing sales of the Model S, Tesla has identified an expansion of its Supercharger networks as a critical next step.
Elon Musk Hung Up On A Reporter Who Asked Him About Battery Costs (BusinessInsider)
Reporters interview CEOs all the time, but it’s rare for those CEOs to end interviews abruptly. Which is what makes an article in Barron’s about Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and its current high stock price so entertaining. In “Recharge Now!”, author Bill Alpert opens with a comparison between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Iron Man comic-book hero Tony Stark. He summarizes the rave reviews received by the Tesla Model S all-electric luxury sport sedan and notes, accurately, that Tesla stock was propelled to its current heights on the basis of one profitable quarter and a classic short squeeze.
Tesla: Gone in 20 Seconds (Fool)
Silicon Valley-spirited auto innovator Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has been hell on wheels. For those of us who were mulling investing in Tesla, well, I believe we blinked and we missed it. Tesla shares motored over the $100 mark in no time flat. Although they’ve slowed a bit, right now the stock’s been no clunker for people who invested in the stock somewhere between March and early May, not to mention last summer. I have repeatedly considered adding Tesla shares to the Prosocial Portfolio I’ve been managing for Fool.com for more than two years now. I have also repeatedly chickened out.
Tesla ends 4-day winning run on Barron’s article (ProactiveInvestors)
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), an electric-car maker, snapped a four-day winning streak on Monday following a report that the shares may drop to $50. Tesla dropped as much as 3.4 percent to $98.57 before trading down 2 percent to $99.95 at 2:50 p.m. in New York. The stock had won 10 percent in the past four days, and almost tripled since the beginning of the year. Barron’s reported that shares will fall below $50 unless the Palo Alto, California-based company slashes battery costs, cuts prices and justifies its growth outlook.
Tesla Generates Small Sales, Big Buzz Without Paid Ads (AdAge)
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has no advertising, no ad agency, no CMO, no dealer network. And that’s no problem. The electric-vehicle company, co-founded by tech billionaire Elon Musk, is the buzz of the auto industry and Wall Street, where its stock has tripled so far this year. But some analysts warn that shares of Tesla, which recently produced its first quarterly profit, are a bubble waiting to burst. The Palo Alto, Calif., company is breaking all the rules of automotive marketing, eschewing dealers in favor of selling through “stores” in upscale shopping malls and the internet.
