Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares fell 0.94% to $222.53 but rebounded 0.91% in after-hours trading on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $32.44 billion at 145.88 million shares outstanding. Shares have been trading in a 52-week range of $141.05 to $286.65.
Tesla Motors is a company that designs, develops, manufactures and sells electric vehicles and energy storage products. It produces and sells two electric vehicles: the Model S sedan and the Model X sport utility vehicle. The company has been facing a lot of heat owing to the crash involving its Autopilot feature on the Model S sedan and the projected slowdown in car sales.
Earlier in the week, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk tweeted that they don’t mind taking the heat for customer safety. He added a piece on Road & Track telling people to “leave Tesla alone” and consider what the company has accomplished rather than focusing on its flaws.
In other related news, the company added its lower cost Model X to its lineup of vehicles. The newest Model X will have a base price of $74,000 before any charges or discounts, with the total cost estimated at $59,100 after estimated savings. It will join the 75- and 90-kWh versions of the vehicle. In addition, buyers will have an option to upgrade the 60-kWh to a 75-kWh version for $8,500 at delivery, or $9,000 thereafter.
This move is seen as a strategy to support flagging car sales, as the company reported that it delivered 14,370 vehicles in the second quarter of the year versus the forecast at 17,000. This was also weaker compared to the previous sales of 14,810 vehicles. Also, the company produced fewer than expected vehicles for the period. Tesla made 18,345 vehicles during the quarter, representing a 20% decline from their production in Q1. On a less downbeat note, the company plans on targeting backlogs in the coming months, likely producing and delivering a total of 50,000 vehicles for the remainder of the year.
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