Tesla
Tesla or maybe I should say should Elon Musk, is an innovator, a very clever one at that. The multi-million dollar question though is whether or not Musk is a good businessman.
Tesla launched the Model 3 in 2016 as their high volume, company flagship model that would create work and importantly the volume of business and profitability that the company needs to exist.
It’s been hard going and a real roller coaster of a journey right from the outset. From the highs of the huge pre-production order taking online, to the the lows of the missed production targets and consequential stock market volatility. It’s now become obvious to Musk that the Model 3 production needs surgery and not just a band-aid. And so he has announced a 7% cut in the workforce which amounts to just over 3000 staff. He is also reviewing some of the production methods at the factory in California all in an effort to get his unit price down for each of the Model 3’s produced. His challenge is to get the car to make profit when selling at a retail price of $35,000 not just when it is sold ‘fully loaded’ for $44,000+
We wish Tesla and Musk good luck. They bring excitement and creativity to our new marketplace, innovation that has little respect for convention. But beware, the playing field is changing, the sleeping giants have woken up, not all but some of them are huge corporate monoliths that come with huge budgets and great aspirations. The Tesla Model 3 will have to show it’s credentials to a new fully electric VW ID. which will be launched late in 2019 and don’t forget the new Nissan Leaf e+ with a range of around 226 miles. BMW, Mini, Mercedes and many others are lining up their new vehicles ready to enter the challenge.
So what does all this mean…..it means that as a consumer, we’re in for some exciting times ahead. Tesla threw down the gauntlet and now, at long last, we’re going to see the electric car marketplace change and become a busy and competitive place to do business…and we the consumers should benefit it every way possible !
Tesla Model 3
* EPA estimated range
STANDARD EQUIPMENT
Base Price - $35,000 USD
Standard Battery
Range: 220 miles (EPA estimated)
Supercharging rate: 130 miles of range per 30 minutes
Home charging rate: 30 miles of range per hour (240V outlet, 32A)
Performance
0-60 mph: 5.6 seconds
Top speed: 130 mph
Tesla Roadster
Tesla claim the Roadster's acceleration will be:
0–97 km/h (0–60 mph) in 1.9 seconds
0–161 km/h (0–100 mph) in 4.2 seconds
It’s claimed 0 to 1⁄4 mi (0 to 400 m) time will be under 8 seconds, with a top speed above 400 km/h (250 mph). If the production Roadster achieves these performance numbers, it will outperform the supercars of 2017 and would set new production car records, none of which had yet done better than 0–100 km/h (0–62 mph) in 2.0 seconds or 9.0 seconds in the 1/4 mile.
Referring to the performance, Musk stated, "this is what we are achieving in the prototype", he also indicated the performance may improve in the production model and that the stated numbers refer to the anticipated "base model".