Elon Musk Announces the Tesla Model 3, the Company’s New $35000 auto

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters pegged Tesla for a loss of one cent per share for the fourth quarter. According to Tesla, it sold more than 25,000 Model S sedans in the USA a year ago, while its nearest competitor in the segment, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, sold just under 22,000 cars.

Musk also hinted at something than keen-eyed Tesla fans already knew – the first Model 3s sold will likely cost more than the car’s $35,000 base price. Still, shares have dropped 40% year-to-date (YTD) over concerns related to the slow Model X ramp, and a possibly delayed Model 3 launch.

Styling, price and a realistic driving range beyond 300km will be essential if Tesla’s Model 3 is to remain competitive against Chevrolet’s all-new Bolt, the first model built on GM’s new electric vehicle platform. That expectation was proven at least partially untrue by Tesla’s shipping forecast. Previous year the company delivered 50,000 of the Model S, a jump of 60 percent from 2014.

“Tesla is approximately doubling its cumulative sales every year”.

“Achieving these results in 2016 should leave us well positioned for 2017, when we plan to launch Model 3 and take another significant step towards our mission of accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable transportation”, said the letter from Musk and chief financial officer Jason Wheeler.

Tesla delivered a loss of $2.44 cents per share last quarter on revenues of $1.21 billion.

Not if you believe Tesla CEO, Elon Musk. It definitely won’t have the distinctive falcon wing doors that Tesla’s Model X crossover has.

Tesla Motors reported a loss for the eleventh quarter in a row, the company announced in an earnings presentation on Wednesday.

Tesla’s weaknesses include its deteriorating net income, generally high debt management risk, disappointing return on equity, weak operating cash flow and generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself.

With the Model 3 though, everything changes. “It doesn’t seem like we are going to be demand-constrained”, he said.