Tesla Model S Sales Exceed Target - Q1 guidance of full profitability

From a CNN article.

"You can buy a Model S for no money down net of the tax credit and for $500 a month," Tesla chief executive Elon Musk said in a conference call.
The $500 a month figure was calculated to include savings derived from not using gasoline. Also, among other factors, the company included the time saved from not pumping gas, estimated to be worth $100 a month.
The actual monthly payment, before subtracting all the savings, would be around $1,200 for a customer with excellent credit"

 

Did you get the tesla email for austin.

I couldn't make it in today. I may go on april 10. It looks like the way tesla is regulated in texas you can't roll taxes/license into financing. Its only a minor thing, but I'd like to have tesla able to repair my car in a local facility.

 

I'm not worried about the mobile repairs for minor things. I forgot the times information from the tesla email in case others want it. THe contact opens up a dialog to find the email and snail mail addresses of your representatives

 

Elon Musk FTW, guy is a machine.

 

i think Tesla will come out as #1 or 2 in the luxury car market after they get their backlog of orders squared away. this "$30,000 Bluestar?" is a pipe dream that will never happen. But Tesla will have realized by then that they can do just fine in the $50,000+ market

 

I'd say blue star is promised in the 30s, and that is likely after tax breaks. I don't see why that can not happen, especially if they are produced in a lower cost texas factory, that musk is hinting about. Tesla is making money on 60 kwh aluminum E size car for $70K before tax breaks. In 5 years, I would expect batteries to drop to about 70% of today's costs (7%/year). There is no reason that a mainly steel C-size car with a 35 kwh pack can not be produced for $40K. before tax breaks bring the car into the mid 30s. Nissan is making a 24 kwh midsize for $30K now, I would expect tesla would use better materials, but economics are on blue star's side.

 

Hmm, sound familiar...
Oh yes, I heard the same thing about the Roadster.
When they built it, I then started hearing the same thing about the Model S.
Hmmmm, seems thousands of those are being driven around now.

Sure, it is possible they won't make the 'bluestar'. But the odds are better than they were for the Roadster, and the Model S.
My bet is on the guy who has already delivered in the past and has found a way to send cargo to the International Space Station

 

I have no doubt when Musk made the statement about Bluestar that he was sincere and who knows? he may deliver. but I think the reaction to the S has convinced him that he can completely change the landscape of the upscale car market. Willing to bet that right now he is rethinking his views on a high volume, low profit plans

 

He wants to make a bmw 3, audi A4 type competitor that is electric, not a leaf competitor.

BMW reports record profit margin, but Audi's is better
12% ebit is not too bad. The A4 starts at $32,500, which is not a bad place for blue star to start after a $7500 tax credit. Key will be continued tesla execution and battery prices continuing to go down. A 150 mile range sub 7 second to 60 for the entry level blue star seems like a much easier target to hit, then the roadster or tesla S which people claimed would never be profitable. Larger range and faster speeds should be easy for more money. Its a uphill slog, but blue star may be a much better seller for initial adopters than a 70 mile range, less expensive, slower, car. Lets at least give some american ingenuity a chance before throwing in the towel, and thinking the Japanese have this game won.

 

Dave has a very good point. The lowest base price Model S now is $63,570 with $7,500 Fed Tax credit or: $71,070. The Model X is going to be from $60 - 100,000. The next model probably will not be in the $30,000 range.

 

sounds like most of the confusion seems to be what the price was supposed to be. I took his statement to mean that he wanted to produce a mainstream car at current mainstream prices (which was just under $30,000) so I took his statement to mean exactly that.

now is he adding temporary incentives to that price? I dont know but that is not how I took his statement.

the other thing I am looking at is his removal of the 40 Kwh pack as an option. Tesla's official line was that there were only like 4-10% (depending on who you read) that ordered the 40 Kwh pack which is pretty much the same percentage that any bottom trim package on any car gets. So was this a surprise to him or a shift in thinking.

time will tell.

either way, I think he is relishing the limelight that exclusivity provides. He is much happier tooting his horn over the service and amenities that only high end, high margin products can offer.

He is a standout one of kind person and I dont think he wants to be "just another good volume auto dealer"

 

He now has a price gap to fill for the 40 Kwh pack cancellation before going lower.

 

You probably should update your quotes. About 5 years ago Tesla was talking about a less expensive car, perhaps as a joint venture with another car company.

The latest tweets talked about half the price of the Tesla S, which would be 70,000 before tax breaks - 35,000. Or more likely 62,000 after tax breaks getting to $31,000.

BMW 3 is mainstream compared to the tesla S.