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Auto maker hasn’t completed an alpha engineering prototype of its less expensive Model 3 electric car
Tesla Motors Inc. on Wednesday indicated the company has yet to complete a so-called “alpha” engineering prototype of its forthcoming Model 3 electric car, which is due in 2017.
The disclosure, coming in its annual proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commissions, offers a rare glimpse into the status of one of the company’s most anticipated projects. The Silicon Valley electric car maker’s past disclosures indicate there is still plenty of time to complete the prototype and still launch on target.
Tesla Motors still has more than 30 months to launch the car in order to meet its target for launching the Model 3—designed to be a far cheaper offering than the Model S sedan it currently sells and Model X SUV slated for launch in the second half of this year.
The Model 3 is expected to make the Tesla portfolio more accessible. Tesla has said the vehicle will achieve 200 miles on a charge and cost $35,000, about half of what a base Model S costs; it will launch at about the time General Motors Co. and other bigger rivals plan to introduce electric vehicles with similar range and with similar price tags.
In its filing, Tesla noted Chief Executive Elon Musk now holds 26.7% of Tesla’s stock, and the stake is valued at about $7.8 billion at the current share price. Mr. Musk founded the company in 2004 and remains the company’s chief vehicle architect.
The company next week will announce a grid-scale battery pack as well as a home battery, representing a new frontier for the company’s product ambitions. Mr. Musk had previously said the company was working on a stationary battery storage product. In addition, he has said the company could produce batteries at its so-called gigafactory, which is under construction in Nevada, for this same market.
Among Mr. Musk’s target milestones for certain equity grants is a commitment to developing alpha and beta prototypes of the Model 3, as well as completion of production of the vehicle. Tesla has already completed both prototypes for the Model X SUV, leaving only the official production of the vehicle on the CEO’s to-do list.
Tesla’s past disclosures help shed light on the company’s timeline for completing prototypes.
In its proxy statement filed in 2012, Tesla said it completed the so-called alpha prototype of the Model S sedan in December 2010, or less than 20 months before the first delivery of the car in June of 2012. The alpha model was described as an “engineering prototype” and it was approved by the board one month after it was completed.
The company then finished its “beta” prototype—described as a validation prototype—in October 2011, about nine months before the sales launch. Tesla has delivered 57,000 vehicles world-wide, and aims to sell 55,000 in 2015.
While the company has yet to report a profit and faces considerable hurdles, Mr. Musk, 43 years old, has built Tesla into a force in the global auto industry. Its market capitalization of $27.6 billion is bigger than Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ valuation, but less half of General Motors Co. or Ford Motor Co. Tesla, however, pulls in a fraction of the revenue and has a tiny footprint compared with its Detroit rivals.
The company said its founder will work for an annual base salary of $37,440 in 2015, equivalent to the minimum wage requirements in California. That is up slightly from the $35,360 he earned in 2014.
The company said Mr. Musk, Tesla’s biggest stockholder by far, doesn’t accept the salary.
In 2012, Mr. Musk was awarded $78 million in stock options.
Tesla also outlined compensation for certain executives, including Tech Chief JB Straubel, who earned $17.1 million in total pay in 2014.
Tesla Offers Slight Glimpse Into Model 3’s Status - WSJ
Tesla Motors Inc. on Wednesday indicated the company has yet to complete a so-called “alpha” engineering prototype of its forthcoming Model 3 electric car, which is due in 2017.
The disclosure, coming in its annual proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commissions, offers a rare glimpse into the status of one of the company’s most anticipated projects. The Silicon Valley electric car maker’s past disclosures indicate there is still plenty of time to complete the prototype and still launch on target.
Tesla Motors still has more than 30 months to launch the car in order to meet its target for launching the Model 3—designed to be a far cheaper offering than the Model S sedan it currently sells and Model X SUV slated for launch in the second half of this year.
The Model 3 is expected to make the Tesla portfolio more accessible. Tesla has said the vehicle will achieve 200 miles on a charge and cost $35,000, about half of what a base Model S costs; it will launch at about the time General Motors Co. and other bigger rivals plan to introduce electric vehicles with similar range and with similar price tags.
In its filing, Tesla noted Chief Executive Elon Musk now holds 26.7% of Tesla’s stock, and the stake is valued at about $7.8 billion at the current share price. Mr. Musk founded the company in 2004 and remains the company’s chief vehicle architect.
The company next week will announce a grid-scale battery pack as well as a home battery, representing a new frontier for the company’s product ambitions. Mr. Musk had previously said the company was working on a stationary battery storage product. In addition, he has said the company could produce batteries at its so-called gigafactory, which is under construction in Nevada, for this same market.
Among Mr. Musk’s target milestones for certain equity grants is a commitment to developing alpha and beta prototypes of the Model 3, as well as completion of production of the vehicle. Tesla has already completed both prototypes for the Model X SUV, leaving only the official production of the vehicle on the CEO’s to-do list.
Tesla’s past disclosures help shed light on the company’s timeline for completing prototypes.
In its proxy statement filed in 2012, Tesla said it completed the so-called alpha prototype of the Model S sedan in December 2010, or less than 20 months before the first delivery of the car in June of 2012. The alpha model was described as an “engineering prototype” and it was approved by the board one month after it was completed.
The company then finished its “beta” prototype—described as a validation prototype—in October 2011, about nine months before the sales launch. Tesla has delivered 57,000 vehicles world-wide, and aims to sell 55,000 in 2015.
While the company has yet to report a profit and faces considerable hurdles, Mr. Musk, 43 years old, has built Tesla into a force in the global auto industry. Its market capitalization of $27.6 billion is bigger than Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ valuation, but less half of General Motors Co. or Ford Motor Co. Tesla, however, pulls in a fraction of the revenue and has a tiny footprint compared with its Detroit rivals.
The company said its founder will work for an annual base salary of $37,440 in 2015, equivalent to the minimum wage requirements in California. That is up slightly from the $35,360 he earned in 2014.
The company said Mr. Musk, Tesla’s biggest stockholder by far, doesn’t accept the salary.
In 2012, Mr. Musk was awarded $78 million in stock options.
Tesla also outlined compensation for certain executives, including Tech Chief JB Straubel, who earned $17.1 million in total pay in 2014.
Tesla Offers Slight Glimpse Into Model 3’s Status - WSJ
