Source: Reddit/u/pryan886
The Tesla share price has continued its remarkable surge – adding another $26 billion ($A38 billion) on Friday in New York – amid news about the upcoming Battery Day, price cuts for the Model Y electric SUV, and even the possibility of a small new electric hatchback.
The Tesla stock closed on Friday at $US1,544, taking its market value to a phenomenal $US268 billion ($A385 billion) – or a remarkable value approaching $A1 million for each vehicle sold in 2019. Although it should be noted that Tesla is being valued on future prospects, and more of a tech stock, than past performance and deliveries.
Its Friday gain of more than 10 per cent means it added the value of the Ford motor company in a single trading session, underlying the market view about the future of the auto sector, and its intersection with smart technologies.
The big news was the announcement that Battery Day has now been set for September 22, the same date as the company’s annual general meeting.
Battery Day has been the most anticipated event on Tesla’s calendar since the unveiling of the Model 3, and perhaps the Cybertruck, and the expectations of a major battery breakthrough have been critical for the company’s surging share price.
The Battery Day, which is now expected to include a tour of a new cell production line, is expected to see the announcement of the so-called “million mile” battery – indicating the extended life-time of a battery – as well as a range of up to 1,000kms or more in a single charge – both reflecting major improvements in battery chemistry and software.
The date for Battery Day comes as Tesla also announced that the price of the Model Y electric “crossover” SUV in the US would also be cut by $US3,000 to $US49,990 ($A72,000) for the long range model, as the company continued to gain efficiencies in its manufacturing processes.
The price cut comes little more than three months since Tesla began deliveries of the Model Y, which Musk says will eventually outsell the smaller Model 3 sedan on which it is based.
The price of the Model Y Performance was reduced by $US1,000 to $US59,990 ($A86,000).
And in further news, CEO and co-founder Elon Musk also raised expectations of a possible small electric hatchback in Germany – as he responded, as usual, to suggestions on Twitter.
Musk has been enthusiastic about the new engineering that is going to the Berlin Gigafactory – the company’s first production facility in Europe – and his suggestion that a small electric hatchback could be designed and engineered in Europe comes at the same time as Volvo bought a Model Y, reportedly to “reverse engineer” the car and work out what it can do better.
Perhaps it’s a sign, what with the share price surge, the sales results of Tesla, and the impending Battery Day, that the legacy car-makers are finally realising that they should follow their new leader.
Giles Parkinson is founder and editor of The Driven, and also edits and founded the Renew Economy and One Step Off The Grid web sites. He has been a journalist for nearly 40 years, is a former business and deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review, and owns a Tesla Model 3.
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