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Analyst slashes Tesla sales forecast by 40% due to fuel prices

While falling gas prices are cause for celebration among Americans, many of whom are seeing their budget for Christmas presents burgeon on account of the cheap fuel, it's decidedly bad news for Tesla Motors. The electric car manufacturer's fortunes are being seriously impacted by the low cost of petrol, with one of the firm's biggest fans on Wall Street, Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas, now slashing his expectations for the Palo Alto, CA-based company. Jonas has a long record of being bullish on the brand, but that hasn't stopped him from lowering his forecast for the company by a whopping 40 percent. In other words, Jonas thinks Tesla will only be able to sell 300,000 vehicles by the end of the decade rather than the half a million that was originally forecast. "While nobody buying a Model S today is doing so to save on their monthly expenses, the longer-term story is far more dependent on the volume success of the Model 3," Jonas wrote, according to CNN Money. "Oil price is a factor for Model 3." Gas prices might not be the only factor that could hurt the Model 3, though. Jonas seems to think that Tesla won't be able to sell its more affordable model for anything less than $60,000, which is a far cry from the $35,000 price that the company has targeted. Jonas doesn't elaborate on why Tesla might miss its target so drastically, but it does help to explain his bearish attitude – if gas prices remain low, there's not really any incentive for customers to join the Tesla family. That's doubly true when the cost of joining said family is twice as much as expected.

Tesla's Musk Paid $70,000 Salary In 2013

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk was paid just under $70,000 in 2013. But he could be in line for much, much more. According to a Tesla filing with regulators Thursday, Musk made a base salary of $33,280 in 2013. That was the minimum he was required to make under California law. He got an additional $36,709 in company bonuses. Tesla says Musk, the billionaire founder of PayPal and rocket-building company SpaceEx, only accepts $1 and returns the rest to the company. Musk could someday rake in much more from the company he helped found in 2003. Under a compensation package approved in 2012, Musk was awarded options to buy nearly 5.3 million shares of Tesla stock at $31.17 each. The stock closed Thursday at $207.86, making those shares worth about $900 million. The plan is supposed to compensate Musk over a 10-year period, but only if the company meets performance goals. Musk can't exercise all the shares, for example, unless Tesla's shares reach a total value of $43.2 billion. The company's shares are currently worth $25.6 billion. Musk would also have to meet milestones for production of Tesla's planned Model X electric SUV and its Generation Three vehicle, which will cost around $35,000. Right now, Tesla only makes the Model S sedan, which starts at $70,000. Tesla said in its filing that some incremental stock value goals have been achieved, but the operational milestones, while probable, have not been reached, so none of Musk's shares have vested. Related Gallery Tesla Model S Wins Coveted 'Car Of The Year' Awards

Tesla trying to keep Model X demand low for now

When running a business, having to throttle the hype for a new product isn't such a terrible problem to have. That's exactly was Tesla is doing with its Model X SUV, which is slated to go on sale next year. During a quarterly earnings call (transcript available here), Tesla CEO Elon Musk explained that Tesla is currently steering customers away from the upcoming electric ute. "If somebody comes in who wants to buy the X, we try to convince them to buy the S." – Elon Musk "There are no cars available for a test drive," says Musk. "There is no information about the cars in our stores because we're only selling the S. In fact, if somebody comes in who wants to buy the X, we try to convince them to buy the S. So we anti-sell it." Sure, but why not get out in front of the Model X release, and encourage people to adopt early? According to Musk, Tesla can create demand for the Model X "at will." He just doesn't want customers twiddling their thumbs while they wait for their new car to become available. Musk says that in China, the only grievances were customers who were "upset about waiting too long for their car. So it's like, boy, we better not stoke demand in that situation." So it sounds like confidence is high over at Tesla concerning the Model X (perhaps Mr. Musk wouldn't mind sharing the patent for his magic demand wand). Customers, just make sure to temper your desire for the electric SUV for now, or you might just end up behind the wheel of a Model S sedan.