Tesla CEO Elon Musk thinks that Apple will eventually be a “direct” competitor when it comes to cars, but he also says the company started too late.
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Musk said this during the company’s annual shareholder meeting.
“Google’s done a great job at showing the potential of autonomous transport, but they’re not a auto company”, Musk said at Recode’s now ongoing Code Conference.
Eliminating, or “decoupling” as Musk called it, free usage of the charging network for Model 3 owners is likely one of the measures Tesla is employing to get the starting price of the vehicle down to the promised $35,000 level.
Specifically, Musk promised that two software updates are on the way for Model X cars that will fix the electric SUV’s troublesome falcon wing doors.
Shares fell 2.2 per cent after the news of the Model 3 Supercharger cost broke and their value remains lower than in August 2015, a time when Tesla last issued shares.
One of the biggest perks of owning a Tesla is free charging at one of the company’s widespread Supercharger stations. Tesla is concerned owners are taking advantage of the charging stations and using them out of habit.
Musk said the company’s goal remains to make electric transportation as affordable as possible, but the supercharging network has a cost.
Charging vehicle owners to access the Supercharger stations would be a return to a previous practice for the company.
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There are features that have been ported from Model S to Tesla Model 3, and they happen to be the rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive versions, along with a 15-inch landscape touchscreen inside. The chargers that make up the company’s proprietary Supercharger network recharge the car’s battery at a faster-than-normal rate. I’ll believe this when Musk does more than just talk about it. They also lashed out at those who made the deposit by offering demoralizing quote like the Model 3 will suffer a long delay.
