THE eye-catching falcon-wing doors that adorn Tesla’s Model X (see picture) set it apart from other big and expensive SUVs. But like the firm’s Model S, a stylish and speedy saloon, the biggest difference lies under the bodywork: it is powered by a battery. Tesla has accelerated into the automotive fast-lane by making electric cars that appeal to rich folk keen to burnish their credentials as environmentally aware techies. But at the end of March it is launching the Model 3, a cheaper motor aimed at the upper end of the mass market. It will be a far harder sell.
Tesla has hitherto thrived in a niche. Other carmakers crammed bulky and expensive batteries into petite “city” cars. Tesla put a bigger power-pack into large and expensive ones (prices start at $70,000), more readily absorbing the cost of the battery. This also gives the cars a decent range of more than 250 miles (400km) between charges, and lightning acceleration. In 2015, after just over ten years in business, Tesla’s sales surpassed 50,000 cars. By 2020 it hopes to sell 500,000 a year, mostly Model 3s. These will cost as little as $35,000 (before the generous subsidies many...Continue reading
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