So far, the Tesla models are not suitable for the masses, mainly because of their prices. "We don't have an affordable car," says CEO Musk, who wants to change that. But the devil is in the details – and the market value collapses.
Tesla wants to drastically reduce the price of its electric cars. According to CEO Elon Musk, production costs for the batteries are to be reduced in particular. Until then, the customers will have to be patient, Musk signaled at an eagerly anticipated company event. The conversion of the production will take about three years. This prospect caused disappointment among investors.
The share of the electric car pioneer, which had risen to become the most valuable automobile manufacturer in the past few months, plummeted by seven percent in the after-hours business after it had already lost 5.6 percent in regular trading. Tesla's market value shrank by $ 50 billion on Tuesday. The prices of battery suppliers to the US group also fell. The papers of the South Korean company LG Chem fell 4.7 percent, those of the Japanese Panasonic 2.9 percent.
"Not an affordable car" yet
Musk's goal is to reduce battery technology and manufacturing costs enough so that Tesla can sell self-driving e-cars for $ 25,000. "We don't have an affordable car," he said. "We will have that in the future. But for that we have to bring the costs of the batteries down," Musk emphasized at the "Tesla Battery Day". His appearance, which was broadcast on the Internet, was followed by more than 270,000 viewers.
The Tesla boss promised a new generation of batteries. These should be significantly more powerful and durable than the current ones and only cost half as much. You should practically do without the expensive heavy metal cobalt. There are also plans to recycle battery cells in the so-called gigafactory in the state of Nevada. The company is still about three years away from mass production. The new battery cells will initially be produced on a new assembly line near the factory in Fremont, California.
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