Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk held a virtual “town hall” meeting with past and present customers recently to address the company’s latest moves. The crux of the meeting was Musk’s apology to those 2008 Roadster depositors who have been asked to bear the financial brunt of the company’s production issues. Tesla asked 400 customers who placed their deposits on the $90,000 Roadster to pay additional costs for performance and interior features that were originally included in the purchase price. Musk cited inaccurate cost projections, the company’s inexperience in auto production and high expenses from contractors for the majority of these costs.
While Musk may not have been able to assuage past customers with this explanation, Tesla’s future moves are promising for electric vehicle fans. Musk noted that the Model S should be up and running for a presentation in Los Angeles at the beginning of March. Tesla has stated its intention to produce the Roadster Sport by 2011. It will be interesting to see the level of interest in Tesla’s second-generation car (priced above $120,000) given the financial burden taken on by first-generation owners.
Tesla’s collaboration with Daimler AG on an electric version of the Smart car was also mentioned during the virtual meeting. Daimler will use Tesla’s electric drivetrain in the Smart EV slated for production in 2010. Musk stated that the Daimler-Tesla collaboration would retail around $20,000, making the diminutive EV more affordable for the average consumer. Daimler plans on sending out some Smart test cars to government and corporate fleets this year to test integration of the Tesla EV system.
This initial “town hall” meeting will be followed by at least one more in the near future to address Tesla’s future initiatives. Tesla customers who have to pay additional expenses due to the company’s mistakes may not be happy but it seems likely that these customers are capable of bearing higher costs. Tesla plans to offer the Model S at an even higher price than the initial Roadster, showing the public that Musk and associates have learned the economic lessons from the first generation of vehicles. The Daimler-Tesla news is promising for consumers and a lucrative side business for the California automaker in difficult economic times.
