Op-Ed: To tweet or not to tweet, now that Elon’s the boss
The company’s stock is down about 20 percent since its October IPO but that’s mostly due to its decision not to list its IPO, according to an analysis of the firm’s past earnings.
The Tesla Model S was up for sale in March at $59,900, which is $500 more than its estimated sticker price, but it didn’t attract much interest. That’s in line with other luxury cars on the market, which are also well above their sticker price, like the Mercedes-Benz GLC 63 AMG, which starts at $96,900 before government rebate.
But if a tweet about Elon Musk isn’t enough for you, maybe this one will get you to buy: The Tesla Model S will be a lot more affordable soon.
The company just announced that it was going to slash the price of the Model S from $69,900 to $51,900, while the price for the standard version of the car will be lowered to $41,900.
The lower price points could help the Model S catch on. Tesla is a very small car company and it doesn’t have many of them on the road. The Model S has been a hit with the most important customer group — drivers of expensive luxury cars like the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG or a $1 million Porsche 911.
However, if you don’t have a lot of money to burn, many luxury cars, like the Lamborghini Gallardo, are still quite expensive. And if you need more than one car, it would be a real pain to drive.
But it seems like Elon Musk has gotten all the attention he can stand from the car industry. He didn’t list the cars Tesla makes on his latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, in which he also disclosed that the company has another $5.5 billion in cash, and the rest is debt.
After Musk announced his financial results on an earnings call, Goldman Sachs raised its price target on Tesla to $250 from $200. Now, Goldman could probably buy the stock for $160.
However, Wall Street analysts didn’t buy it either, which means the stock is currently selling for about $154. The stock is also trading at 16 times its earnings since the IPO, and that