2024 Tesla Model 3 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Tesla Model X to outsell Model S, 'devour' premium SUV market

It's still about a year away, but the arrival of the Tesla Model X is already expected to have a major impact on the premium SUV market. According to Morgan Stanley, the all-electric Model X, Tesla's third model following the Roadster and Model S sedan, is "ready to feast" on the current crop of high-end SUVs.
Not only does Morgan Stanley expect the Model X to do well against other vehicles in its class, it's expecting the new SUV to even outpace the critically acclaimed Model S, with the X accounting for a larger share of sales by the end of 2016. The sales boost provided by the Model X should also contribute to a healthy jump in Tesla's current $250 stock price. MS is expecting Tesla shares to hit about $320, and has called it a "top pick in US autos," according to The Los Angeles Times.
As for how Morgan Stanley is expecting such strong results for a car that literally no one outside of Tesla has driven, it cites Elon Musk's company's increased access to both money and technological expertise relative to the Model S project. The firm also points to Tesla's larger investments in the Model X project so far.

Missouri next state to attempt Tesla direct-sales ban

When Tesla Motors feels like its under attack, it is not afraid to speak out. After state lawmakers in New Jersey voted to close the electric vehicle company's stores there, the company said it was an "affront to the very concept of a free market" and CEO Elon Musk compared the situation to mafia tactics. In Ohio, when the company learned about a fast-moving challenge, it quickly asked its fans and owners for help. That same move is now taking place in Missouri, where Tesla said a "sneak attack" is happening that will "thwart due process and hurt consumer freedom in Missouri." Tesla currently has one store in Missouri, in St. Louis (and wants to open another), but new language inserted into a bill that had previously been focused on off-road vehicles "would bar Tesla from selling its vehicles direct to consumers in the state," the automaker says. That doesn't seem like an exaggeration, since the bill explicitly states: In enacting subsection 3 of this section, it is the express intent of the legislature to prevent any manufacturer of new motor vehicles from circumventing the public policy as stated in section 407.811, by engaging in methods of retailing new motor vehicles which are designed to avoid the provisions of sections 407.810 to 407.835. Tesla says the bill's new language passed the Senate last night, "after zero public consultation and could soon move to the House floor for a final vote, essentially without debate." Tesla wants to get a debate started, so it makes its point in bold terms. "To be clear: this is worse than a mere case of dealers trying to protect an existing monopoly – this is a case of dealers trying to create a monopoly," the company said. Recently, some officials at the FTC said they thought anti-direct sales rules were "protectionist," which at least hints that a possible change is coming. You can read Tesla's call to action for Missouri below. We have just become aware of a last-minute attempt by the auto dealers lobby, via pressure on legislators, to use a procedure that would bar Tesla from selling its vehicles direct to consumers in the state. This extraordinary maneuver amounts to a sneak attack to thwart due process and hurt consumer freedom in Missouri. In the last week before Missouri's legislature ends its current session, dealers proposed new language in an existing bill that would force Missouri consumers to purchase new vehicles only through middleman franchised dealers.

What does the open patents deal mean for Tesla ... and BMW?

Gift to the world or trade bait? Tesla Motors announced this week it would open its patents for other automakers to use. That has analysts guessing whether the California-based electric-vehicle maker is looking to either swap trade secrets with other automakers or to expand the proverbial pie that represents the plug-in vehicle market. For its part, Tesla says the answer is B. BMW, which is establishing its i sub-brand of plug-in vehicles, would be a natural collaborator with Tesla, Forbes says. In fact, executives from the two companies met in Europe this week. Details were not released, but a BMW spokesman said, "Both companies are strongly committed to the success of electromobility and discussed how to further strengthen the development of electromobility on an international level." While Tesla brings battery technology to the table, BMW offers its carbon-fiber advancements that lighten vehicle-body weight. Those advancements are key to range-extending efforts and could do wonders for Tesla on its journey to help spur technology for the sake of getting more of the general public to accept plug-in technology as a viable first-car option. Then again, Forbes says Tesla, whose investors include Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler and Toyota, may be keeping its best technologies to itself by not patenting certain advancements at all. What's in Tesla's patent pool? uAutoInsurance analyzed Tesla's 249 patents and found that 104 of them related to battery technology, while 28 pertained to recharging activity, which wasn't surprising (about a quarter of those 249 patents couldn't readily be categorized). Tesla also has nine patents related to sunroof technology. The company is based in California, after all.