Hackers turn off Tesla Model S at low speed – FT

Tesla said it will reveal the design of its Model 3 – a $US35,000 “mass-market” auto – in the first quarter. As of now, the upcoming model is in road testing phase, and the firm is ramping its production to meet the pre-orders by this year.

What Musk did confirm was a delivery date for the long-awaited Model X. According to Cnet, Musk stated deliveries to customers would happen by September 30th. Last year, Musk had forecast sales of 60,000 cars in 2015, but cut that earlier this year to 55,000.

However, MarketWatch reported, Tesla’s $184 million net loss is almost three times as large as the company’s loss in the second quarter of 2014. But the company lowered its annual sales outlook and indicated pricing is under pressure due to currency effects and a shift in the mix of Model S sedans it is selling.

Elon Musk, the chief executive officer, said in a conference call with analysts, “Our biggest challenges are with the second-row seat”.

Tesla shares fell as much as 8 percent in after-hours trading Wednesday, before retracing some of those losses.

As for Tesla’s actual financial results, revenue for the period was an impressive $1.2 billion on a non-GAAP basis, which was slightly better than what analysts had forecast.

Programming the Tesla factory robots, including the KUKA KE 1000 Titan, has required the company to produce possibly as many as 50 Model X “validation vehicles” – cars no one will ever drive – just to show the robots how to assemble, weld and glue aluminum body parts. He said that the company has enough available lines of credit that are expandable to a maximum of $750 million. On May 6, Tesla told shareholders it remains “confident in [its] ability to deliver approximately 55,000 Model S and Model X vehicles combined in 2015″, but the company has now reconsidered that target.

Tesla sounded more optimistic about 2016, when the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company expects “a steady state production and demand” of 1,600 to 1,800 Model S and Model X vehicles each week.

Tesla is also gearing for a new project to adapt vehicle batteries to store power in homes and businesses with its new Powerwall and Powerpack.