By Oliver M. Bayani
Tesla Motors Inc. has just announced the final pricing and versions of their much awaited all-electric sedan called the Model S, scheduled to hit the showrooms next year.
Based on their official website, the Model S will come in 4 variants. The base version costs $49,900 and has a 40-kilowatt-hour battery pack, able to travel as far as 160 miles per charge. A mid-grade version fitted with a bigger 60 kwh battery can go 230 miles per charge and costs $59,900.
The two top models can travel as far as 300 miles per charge with a 85 kwh battery. Consumers can choose between a basic model without accessories that costs $69,900 or the beefed-up Model S performance model at $79,900.
The prices mentioned were after deducting a $7,500 federal tax credit, according to Tesla.
Development of the Model S has strained Tesla''s revenues since last year. Based on their latest financial report last month, Increased spending on the car''s development and the company''s upcoming Model X sports utility vehicle drove the company to bigger net losses, which nearly doubled from $34.94 million in the same quarter a year earlier last year to $65.08 million.
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said for the past two quarters that he was expecting to recover from these losses once the Model S goes on sale. The company has received 6,500 reservations for the all-electric sedan so far, 1,150 of which came from the past three months alone.
As of last month, around 90 percent of the factory equipment and robots needed to manufacture the Model S have now been installed in a refurbished factory in Fremont, California previously owned by Toyota Inc. The remaining equipment, mostly dealing with the interiors of the car, is expected to be complete "in the next month or two," said Mr. Musk.
All of the batteries used in the model are manufactured by Japan''s Panasonic Corp, according to the supply agreement finalized in October.
Image courtesy of: http://www.teslamotors.com/