Elon Musk

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Tesla S

I wish I were a bookie, or knew how to put odds on events. Starting a betting pool on Tesla chairman Elon Musk’s plans for the company’s future would be fun. The company is seemingly doing pretty well, despite internal disputes, lawsuits, changes at the top, and who knows what all. Musk keeps on keeping on, though. Tesla’s got a deal with Daimler to help build electric smart cars, and Musk recently announced the addition of an SUV to Tesla’s future lineup and reiterated the company’s plans for an affordable sedan.

During an interview with PBS’s Charlie Rose last week, Musk said the sedan will sell for around $50,000, or half the current price of the Roadster, and be produced in much larger numbers. Like, 20,000 a year, compared to 1,000 for the Roadster this year. An electric SUV and a new, smaller, more affordable car will follow sometime in the future. But you can look for the Tesla S sedan in two years … or can you? Place your bets!

Image of the Tesla S courtesy of Tesla Motors.

Tesla Recharging

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk blogged last week about the latest member of his electric vehicle family: the Tesla Model S, a four-door sedan. The company has its collective fingers crossed that the U.S. Department of Energy will approve its $350 million loan to work on the new family-friendly car; if it all works out, production could begin in 2011.

Musk had a slew of good news to report, in addition to the high hopes he has for the Model S:

  • The faster, performance-tuned Roadster Sport will be available in June 2009
  • Two new sales and service locations will open in Chicago and London, with more in the pipeline
  • The company is expected to turn a profit by mid-year (but who knows how many high-level personnel changes there’ll be in the meantime)
  • He reiterated that Tesla has partnered with Daimler to supply the batteries and chargers for the electric Smart car