Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Elon Musk on Tesla: "...it's definitely going to be a tough six months," (TSLA)

The stock is down 4.52% at $29.76.
From MIT's Technology Review:

Elon Musk: Next Six Months Crucial to Tesla's future
Even the always-bullish Tesla Motors founder says the next six months will be "very tough" for the electric car maker as it seeks more customers.  

Elon Musk is considered one of today’s most audacious technology entrepreneurs. But even he recognizes that Tesla Motors is entering a challenging period for the electric vehicle company.

Musk, who founded Tesla and space exploration company SpaceX, spoke last week at the Clean Energy Summit where he sounded a cautionary note with regards to Tesla’s near future.

"The challenge Tesla faces over the next several months, which is a very difficult one, is to scale up production and achieve enough of a gross margin on the product that we get to a situation where we're cash flow positive. If we aren't able to do that we will join the graveyard of all the other car company startups of the last 90 years," he said according to an article at AOL Energy.

Telsa began shipping its Model S electric sedan earlier in June, a car targeted at consumers looking for an alternative to more established luxury models. The base price is just under $50,000 after factoring in a $7,500 tax credit. But models with a large enough battery to allow for a 300 mile range will be priced at $87,900 after the tax credit....MORE