Model S
The refreshed Tesla Model S 70 lets you pay to 'unlock' a bigger battery
In its newly updated Model S sedan, Tesla is selling a 70kWh battery that is secretly a 75kWh battery. The company has been selling them for almost a month, and is just now telling the world about it. Even better? If you bought one of those 70kWh Model S sedans, you can pay $3,250 to "unlock" the extra juice. Bizarre? Absolutely. But maybe brilliant, too.
Model X
Putting the Tesla HEPA Filter and Bioweapon Defense Mode to the Test
The air filtration system was put to the test in real-world environments from California freeways during rush hour, to smelly marshes, landfills, and cow pastures in the central valley of California, to major cities in China. We wanted to ensure that it captured fine particulate matter and gaseous pollutants, as well as bacteria, viruses, pollen and mold spores. We then decided to take things a step further and test the complete system as we would on the road, but in an environment where we could precisely control and carefully monitor atmospheric conditions. A Model X was placed in a large bubble contaminated with extreme levels of pollution (1,000 µg/m3 of PM2.5 vs. the EPA's "good" air quality index limit of 12 µg/m3). We then closed the falcon doors and activated Bioweapon Defense Mode.
Model 3
Tesla boosts Model 3 production targets
Musk said on Wednesday that he expects to produce as many as 200,000 of the more-affordable Model 3 sedans in the second half of next year. The youngest publicly held U.S automaker aims to make more than 80,000 vehicles this year and reach 500,000 by 2018 -- two years sooner than originally planned. Annual output by the end of the decade may be as many as a million autos, he said. “Tesla is hell-bent on being the world’s best manufacturer. We are trying to get as many EVs on the road as possible. What’s the limiting factor? It’s production of the car,” Musk said Wednesday on a conference call with analysts. “We’ve got to figure out: How do we get super-good at making large, complex objects?”
TSLA
TSLA Q1 2016 Shareholder Letter
We are on track to achieve volume Model 3 production and deliveries in late 2017. Of course, in order to meet that timeframe, we will be holding both ourselves and our suppliers accountable to be ready for volume production in advance of that timing. Additionally, given the demand for Model 3, we have decided to advance our 500,000 total unit build plan (combined for Model S, Model X, and Model 3) to 2018, two years earlier than previously planned. Increasing production five fold over the next two years will be challenging and will likely require some additional capital, but this is our goal and we will be working hard to achieve it.
Tesla Motors (TSLA) Q1 2016 Earnings Call Transcript
"I think the most important point here that we want to make is that we're advancing the Model 3 build plan substantially, and just the overall volume plan, with Tesla aiming to get to the half million unit per year run rate in 2018 instead of 2020. And this is based off of the tremendous [amount of interest] received for the Model 3, which I think is actually a fraction of the ultimate demand once people fully understand what the car's capable of and are able to do a test drive." - Elon Musk
Two Tesla Production Chiefs to Leave Ahead of Model 3 Ramp-Up
Greg Reichow, Tesla's vice president of production and one of its highest-paid executives, and Josh Ensign, vice president of manufacturing, will leave the company. A Tesla spokesperson confirmed both departures and said Reichow will remain until his replacement is found A person familiar with the situation who isn't authorized to speak about the matter said the executive changes are linked to delays, glitches, and a recall that have bedeviled Tesla's Model X. Tesla denied any connection between the departures and production problems with its SUV. "This is not about the Model X," said a Tesla spokesperson. "After being at Tesla for over five years and leading its production team for the past three years, Greg Reichow has announced his intention to take a leave of absence from Tesla so that he can have a well-earned break."
Tesla leased 1M sq. ft. in Livermore at Trammell Crow, Bentall Kennedy project, the Oaks Logistics Center
Tesla Motors Inc. has snapped up a massive amount of warehouse space in Livermore as the closely watched electric-car company prepares to boost production at its Fremont plant. The Palo Alto-based company led by Elon Musk leased two buildings totaling just over 1 million square feet, or more than 17 football fields, at the Oaks Logistics Center, multiple sources told me last week. Tesla could also take another roughly 300,000-square-foot building there, sources said.
Hey Jerkwater: Do your math on TSLA...
The Second Measure data was irrefutable. It indicated to us that of all pre-ordering customers, 96% reserved only a single car. A further 3.5% reserved two cars and <0.5% made 3 or more. Put another way, the pre-order figures that Tesla is releasing could only overstate unique customers by no more than ~4%, and the true speculative bubble, if any, was limited to less than 0.5% of the buying population.
Elon Musk
Tesla’s Elon Musk keeps promising the impossible. I think I know why.
Simply mastering the complex science of mass production was not enough. “Tesla,” Musk said, “is going to be hell-bent on becoming the best manufacturer on Earth.” And with that grand pronouncement, Musk can breathe again, the catastrophe of becoming an ordinary person running an ordinary company averted. The pressure to meet people’s reasonable expectations lifted, he can now refuel himself on the pressure of his own unreasonable ones—and push everyone around him to do the same.