
Tesla presentation slide from June, 2012 outlining 'Gen 3' platform variants
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Tesla’s long-awaited
Model S is just days from officially hitting the market, although at least one of the electric sedans has
already been delivered to a customer.
With development on the Model S finally complete, we can now focus on what’s next in the pipeline for Tesla.
We know that the Californian start-up’s next model will be the
Model X crossover, which has already been previewed and should start sales sometime next year.
But looking past these two models, Tesla has plans for even more new additions.
While it was previously thought that the next models from Tesla, beyond the Model S and Model X, would be a Fisker Atlantic-rivaling small sedan and a second-generation Roadster, a presentation at a recent investor meeting revealed something quite different.
This slide, which was presented at the meeting and picked up by
AutoblogGreen, confirms that Tesla will add two more models after the Model X, but one of these won’t be a new Roadster. Instead, we’ll see the small sedan and a--presumably--small crossover.
These smaller models will be based on Tesla’s third-generation platform, a design that’s been aptly named the ‘Gen 3’. They will be touted as mainstream models and sell for significantly less than the Model S, which given its features and claimed performance is already relatively well-priced.
No timeline for their release has been mentioned, though they're expected to be on sale by late 2014 or early 2015. Of course, their release is dependent on the success of the Model S and Model X, so Tesla’s plans could easily change.
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Is Fisker really competition for Tesla? I think not, because Fisker's Karma and Atlantic are EREVs. Fisker's competition will be the Cadillac ELR and Chevrolet's Volt.
What I hope for in 3 years is a significant price reduction. If the Model S and X sell well enough and volume production goes up, price can come down. How many more sales would a 10% or 20% price reduction generate? 20% would drop the low end Model S to $40k with tax rebate, and the Performance down to $69k (again with tax rebate).
The Atlantic, BTW, will be 2 or 3 years away, and in the same price range as my optimistic price reductions on the Model S.
BTW, a great number of people never thought Tesla would get this far, this fast. Keep the faith.
However, I do hope/expect that the base third gen models will have range and quick charging capabilities near the current top trim Telsa S for under $40k in 2016.
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