Only 206 Model X vehicles were sold in the fourth quarter, as Tesla had to hold the line back due to production difficulties.
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Tesla yesterday announced that its highly anticipated Model 3 will be unveiled for the first time on March 31. The automaker plans to invest $1.5 billion in its Gigafactory in 2016, to support cell production and initiate the installation of Model 3 production machinery. A signature Model X costs around $130,000. Same reservation amount for all. The company previously said it delivered 17,192 Model S cars and 208 Model X SUVs in the fourth quarter and delivered 50,580 vehicles for all of 2015.
By comparison, the 2017 Chevrolet Volt, GM’s battery-powered electric vehicle, has a sticker price of $37,500, excluding any tax credits. That could ultimately help Tesla cross over into mass-market territory. And that’s why the Tesla 3 is being looked at as such an important auto: It’s Tesla’s first attempt at launching a mass market vehicle. For a cheaper price of Model 3, it is expected to be the most popular product for Tesla in the coming years.
Musk said that, being a sedan, the Model 3 will be less complex to build than the Model X (and those falcon wings).
The Model 3 will be a sedan, like the Model S that’s already on the road, but the company has kept the design under wraps.
The company has said the vehicle would become available in late 2017 though analysts from Barclays and Morgan Stanley say mid- to late- 2018 is more realistic.
It’ll also see new competition.
In the fourth quarter, “we increased global deliveries over 76 percent year-on-year as Model S market share gains continued in every geographic region”, the letter said.
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Tesla Motors Inc. says unadjusted figures do not reflect its true performance because accounting rules limit how it records revenue for leases. For the full year, the company has projected a positive operating profit, against the consensus full year adjusted earnings estimate of $1.71 per share.
