Musk Says Tesla Model S China Sales Are Down; Stock Price Dives In After-Hours Trading

Tesla Motors Inc.’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock dropped nearly 7 percent to $190 in after-hours trading after CEO Elon Musk said at an industry event in Detroit on Tuesday afternoon that sales of the Model S in China were down in the fourth quarter of 2014.

China, the world’s largest and fastest-growing auto market, is important to luxury carmakers in general and Tesla in particular as the maker of the Model S luxury electric car sees the country as an important part of its plans to deliver 500,000 cars a year by 2020. Musk said Chinese buyers are concerned that the company’s network of charging stations in China isn’t built-out enough.

Musk’s comments, first reported by Dow Jones Newswires, came during the Automotive News World Congress event at the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Joining leading auto industry executives, Musk’s comments come after General Motors unveiled its Chevrolet Bolt concept electric car the company says will be priced at $30,000 and have a 200-mile range.

A key component to Tesla’s long-term success is the $35,000 Model 3 the company says will be released in 2017, the same year GM says the Bolt could be in the market. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said last week in Japan that he expects the Nissan Leaf, the sub-$30,000 world’s best-selling electric car, to double its range in the near future, showing that leading automakers are progressing in their efforts to make more appealing electric cars.

The Tesla Model S, a luxury electric car that starts at $71,000, has an industry leading range of up to 265 miles on a full charge. The race in the industry is between Tesla and leading major automakers to produce a lower-cost electric car with a traveling range long enough to allay consumer fears of running out of battery power.

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By EVS

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TURBOII030
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  “神车”光环渐褪

  “已经购车一段时间的朋友告诉我,特斯拉Model S 85的小毛病太多。不仅在冬天耗电速度惊人,续航里程也常常不足300公里(官方数值502公里);中控屏幕也经常失灵;据说安装手机软件后,车门会在无 人操作的情况下自动开启……售后服务说以上问题皆因天气寒冷所致,解决办法是尽量停在市区内,或保持停车时连接电源线。出于以上种种原因,我暂时决定不买 了。”一位准车主如是说。

  另一位车主则向记者表示,提车时就已遇到天窗无法正常打开与关闭的问题,此后软件问题频发,客服固然认真且耐心,却仅会告知“断电重启”的解决办法。

  此外,根据外媒报道,特斯拉近年在电池保护方面并未做出实质改善,导致其车辆在2014年出现6起起火事件。不仅如此,为了降低成本,特斯拉生 产时采用的零件中有很大一部分并非专门为其单独打造,而是集成其他品牌零部件进行整车组装。外媒评论称:“这对于产品在使用过程中的可靠性、安全性影响可 能巨大。”

  除此之外,在消费者非常关注的充电问题上,特斯拉将超级充电桩安装在市区内的做法也颇具争议。截至2014年底,特斯拉在全国17个城市建设 34座超级充电桩,但实际上,这却与美国总部对于超级充电桩的定位不一致:在美国,超级充电桩更多地建在州与州之间,为的是满足长途驾驶中的续航需求,而 在中国,超级充电桩却被建在市内。相关领域专家表示,这种充电很有可能是高压直流充电,若事实如此,势必对电池寿命构成一定威胁。

  对于上述种种问题,截至记者发稿前,特斯拉(中国)方面还没有给出正面回应。

  据特斯拉官方公布的财报显示,2014年,虽然其营收较2013年确有提升,但仍不能掩盖其净亏损高达2.94亿美元的事实。据统计,2014 财年第四季度,特斯拉Model S电动汽车产量为11627辆,但销量仅为9834辆,较分析师平均预期低了将近1000辆,较特斯拉制定的销量目标少1345辆。这在很大程度上归咎于 销量排名倒数第一的亚太市场,马斯克本人也不禁以“出人意料的疲软”这句话来形容特斯拉在华表现。

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