Automotive company Tesla Motors seems to be on track for a launch of its highly-anticipated Model S electric car next year. The company began assembling beta versions of the car, a few of which will be displayed in Tesla showrooms later this year.
“We have started assembling the Beta vehicles,” said Jerome Guillen, Tesla Motors’ Model S program director. “While most Betas are intended for testing to prepare for production, a few are earmarked for visits to North American Tesla stores later this year.”
Tesla Motors’ success will most likely be tied to the success of its Model S cars because they are now targeting families instead of sports car enthusiasts, like what they did with the Roadster. In this tough economy, Model S won’t be within the means of most families, though. This could mean that Model S sales could be disappointing, just as they have with the Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan LEAF. Less than 7,000 units of the Chevy Volt and the Nissan LEAF combined have been sold in the first half of the year. Lack of supplies has been a key reason for this.
The company says that the year 2012 will provide a much better read on the demand for electric vehicles, with GM and Nissan ramping up production and Tesla joining the EV market.
The car’s beta production has just started recently and reports say that it should be able to seat four adults comfortably. The car comes with a base price of $57,000.
via: Ubergizmo
