Electric car maker Archives

Tesla unveils Model 3 sedan for $35K to sell online only

by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Markets, Online Marketing, Sales

San Francisco : Elon Musk-founded electric car maker Tesla has announced an entry-level Model 3 sedan for $35,000 that will have a top speed of 130 miles per hour with 220 miles of range.

The announcement came a day after Elon Musk changed his Twitter handle to Elon Tusk to the surprise of his 24 million followers on the platform.

The standard Model 3 with 0-60 mph acceleration of 5.6 seconds “is built to achieve the same perfect 5-star safety rating as the longer-ranged version, which has the lowest probability of injury of any car ever tested by the US government”, Tesla said in a statement late Thursday.

“In addition, we are introducing the Model 3 Standard Range Plus, which offers 240 miles of range, a top speed of 140 mph, 0-60 mph acceleration of just 5.3 seconds and most premium interior features at $37,000 before incentives,” the company added.

The Model 3 is “excruciatingly difficult” to make at the reduced price, Musk later told reporters on a conference call.

Tesla also said it is shifting sales worldwide to online only.

“Shifting all sales online, combined with other ongoing cost efficiencies, will enable us to lower all vehicle prices by about 6 per cent on average, allowing us to achieve the $35,000 Model 3 price point earlier than we expected,” the company announced.

Over the next few months, Tesla would be winding down many of its stores, with a small number of stores in high-traffic locations remaining as galleries, showcases and Tesla information centres.

The announcement came after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asked a US federal judge to hold Musk in contempt for violating a settlement deal reached in 2018.

The development came in response to Musk’s tweet on February 19 that “Tesla made 0 cars in 2011, but will make around 500k in 2019”.

Hours later, the billionaire sent a follow-up tweet indicating that the company will actually deliver just 400,000 cars in 2019.

Although Musk corrected his mistake, the US regulators slammed the Tesla CEO because he “once again published inaccurate and material information about Tesla to his over 24 million Twitter followers”.

—IANS

Tesla acquires battery technology group Maxwell for $218 mn

by admin | May 25, 2021 | Branding, Business, Large Enterprise, Marketing Basics, Markets, Technology, World

San Francisco : Electric car maker Tesla has acquired US-based energy storage company Maxwell Technologies in an all-stock deal valued at $218 million, a deal aimed at helping the electric automaker improve its batteries and lower costs as more competitors enter the market.

According to the report, the offer will value each of Maxwell’s 45.9 million shares at $4.75. The merger is expected to close in the second quarter of 2019.

“We believe this transaction is in the best interests of Maxwell stockholders and offers investors the opportunity to participate in Tesla’s mission of accelerating the advent of sustainable transport and energy,” Franz Fink, CEO and President, Maxwell, was quoted as saying by TechCrunch on Monday.

Maxwell Technologies’ primary focus has been on ultracapacitors — energy storage devices that can charge and discharge rapidly, perform at a wide range of temperatures and have high power density and long operational life.

In December, the company sold its high-voltage battery product line to Renaissance Investment Foundation for $55.1 million in cash and up to $15 million in potential future milestone payments.

The company says that Maxwell’s dry electrode technology — used to make the ultracapacitors — which can be applied to batteries of varying chemistries, boosts performance and is more cost-effective than the more commonly used wet electrode technology.

That application could give Tesla a boost in an increasingly competitive electric vehicle market, the report said.

A number of automakers are introducing, or have introduced, electric vehicles in the past several months, including the Jaguar I-PACE, Audi e-tron SUV, Kia e-Niro and the Hyundai Kona.

“We are always looking for potential acquisitions that make sense for the business and support Tesla’s mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy,” a Tesla spokesman said in an emailed statement to TechCrunch.

—IANS