The shares of Tesla Motors were trading lower due to the report that the production of its Model 3 has been delayed. The stock price of Tesla declined more than 1% to $259.33 per share at the time of this writing, around 2:34 in the afternoon in New York.
Inside EVs reported that Tesla Motors delayed the production of its Model 3 electric vehicle to 2018 based on the presentation made by JB Straubel, the co-founder and chief technical officer of the electric car manufacturer. Tesla CEO
Elon Musk recently stated that the company is hoping to launch the Model 3 in March 2016. The electric car manufacturer is expected to sell the Model 3 for $35,000, and it would position Tesla in the middle of the electric vehicle market.
Tesla disputed the “speculative blogger” reports
Ricardo Reyes, the chief of communications at Tesla disputed the “speculative blogger” reports in a message posted on Twitter. He emphasized that Tesla still plans to launch its Model 3 next year, and to begin its production in 2017.
Separately, Khobi Brooklyn, a spokesperson for Tesla emailed a statement to Bloomberg clarifying that Straubel’s presentation provides an outlook as to when the Model 3 is in full production. She also reiterated Tesla is on track to start producing the Model 3 in late 2017.
Tesla Model 3 will have a 200-mile range
Tesla is building a Gigafactory as part of its initiative to reduce battery costs. During its presentation, Straubel said the electric car manufacturer intends to develop the Model 3 with a range of 200 miles.
He added that Tesla intends to offer the Model 3 below $40,000, and the electric car required very cheap storage. He said Tesla will be able to achieve its goal by 2017 to 2018. The Model 3 is expected to compete with the BMW 3-series.
Tesla experienced development and production delays for other electric vehicle models including the Model X, which was originally scheduled to be available in showrooms by the end of 2014. Tesla is now scheduled to start delivering the Model X over the next three to four months.
Meanwhile, some investors started to raise concerns regarding the electric car manufacturer’s financial position. Last June 12, the company disclosed that it obtained a $750 revolving credit facility.
