Mercedes-Benz announced a Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA ) powered vehicle yesterday. This is the latest win for the electric vehicle company, adding to a powertrain deal with Toyota (NYSE: TM ) and its own Model S. Analyst Travis Hoium tells why he's excited about this latest move, and what to think about Tesla going forward.
Near-faultless execution has led Tesla Motors to the brink of success, but the road ahead remains a hard one. Despite progress, a looming question remains: Will Tesla be able to fend off its big-name competitors? The Motley Fool answers this question and more in our most in-depth Tesla research available for smart investors like you. Thousands have already claimed their own premium ticker coverage, and you can gain instant access to your own by clicking here now.
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Report this Comment On March 30, 2013, at 1:57 PM, Jazzenjohn1 wrote:
Tesla is a great Black and White stock. Another Apple you can get in on the ground floor, or a dog to be avoided at all costs. From where I sit, having been involved in the auto industry for a quarter century, it's a dog. Toyota, Benz, or anyone else using Tesla for their electric powertrain is a simple reasonable choice, and not particularly great for Tesla, Why? Because they are only using them for a couple of compliance car sales. They may well be COSTING Tesla insteading of them making money on them. It depends on Who is doing the R&D to make it fit, Who is liable if anything happens, and whether Tesla is making as much money on the power pack as it would have made if it simply sold another Tesla car. To answer that last question, No, they aren't making anywhere near as much on the power packs as on their own vehicles. Why bother then? Sell more Model S's instead of putting them into RAV's. I believe their much touted backlog of orders is falling short of turning into real sales. They're doing it for PR and little else. Don't fall for a story about how they were profitable for 27 minutes on the third tuesday in February. They aren't making any real money 10 years after they were founded, they don't have enough to pay back their loans, much less retool for another model or a model change.
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