Tesla will launch a new entry-level model within four years, CEO Elon Musk has said.
Musk hinted that the new car will be a rival to the Nissan Leaf. It will have a range of around 200 miles and will cost less than £26,500.
The new model is top priority for Tesla, with Musk saying he won’t consider selling Tesla or leaving the company until the car is built.
Musk added that he believes Tesla’s Model S is compelling but too expensive for the company to achieve mainstream growth.
In an interview with the Bloomberg news agency, Musk said : “With the Model S, you have a compelling car that’s too expensive for most people. And you have the Leaf, which is cheap, but it’s not great. What the world really needs is a great, affordable electric car. I’m not going to let anything go, no matter what people offer, until I complete that mission.”
Speaking about a possible sale of Tesla, Musk added that any potential buyer would most likely be someone from outside the motor industry.
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If only Tesla hastens!
Although Nissan was the first to put an electric car in mass production yet Tesla electric cars easily outshine every other car maker in terms of design, performance, desirability and looks.
Tesla will become mainstream
I must admit, i really like what Tesla is doing. The Model S and Model X really make a very strong case for EVs. However, despite great design, excellent tech and good battery life, the EV still isn't quite ready for prime time among mainstream buyers. For Tesla to make the jump, it'll need an entry level Golf-size car that sells for less than $30,000 / £20,000. This new model could just be that car. For it to succeed, battery technology will need to advance to offer a number of important new benefits:
Imagine driving from London to Edinburgh with an existing Tesla Model S. You'd get as far as Leeds (230 miles/ 300 km) and then you'd be forced to wait 8 hours while the car fully recharged. And what if you couldn't find a charging station? You'd be stranded, unless you could plug it into an ordinary electrical socket.
At the moment, EV batteries are simply enormous and need to be changed by the manufacturer. They're also incredibly expensive and heavy. They're not that durable either. By the time you've recharged your car 1,000 times (after around 3-years of constant use) you'll need to replace the battery unit, which is likley to cost around 30-40% of the price of the car when new.
I don't want to be too critical of what Tesla is doing, but the disadvantages I've listed are fairly major. What is excisting, though, is that with every new generation model, Tesla is increasing battery life and range, reducing battery size and charge times, while improving the infrastructure.
Make no mistake, we're reaching a 'tipping point' with electric cars. That will come with a battery breakthrough. Today, existing car manufacturers and oil companies are resisting the changeover to electric car propulsion systems, because their existing business model is a cash cow. But if Tesla suddenly gives us a Golf competitor with 500 mile range and a user-changeable battery the size of a suitcase - the rush to buy it will eclipse anything we've seen people queuing to buy iPhones. In fact Tesla could do to Ford, VW and Toyota what Apple has done to Microsoft. Let's hope so.
Oil generates electricity.
If all the worlds vehicles ran on electricity, you would need all the worlds oil to burn to generate the electricty required. Its impossible for oil to become of less value as long as it exists.
Until nuclear fusion of course.