Tesla Motors will announce details of its revamped dealer service and expanded network of fast charging stations this month as the company looks to boost sales.
Chief executive Elon Musk told the Reuters news agency: “I’m an engineer, so service is not something that I naturally do. But it’s the right thing for the company and I think we have the opportunity to re-engineer service.”
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Tesla has just reported its first profitable quarter and also announced that it is partnering with Wells Fargo and US Bank to offer financing to make its pricey electric sedan more accessible.
The financing plan, combined with US tax credits, is designed to tackle one the main reasons that sales of electric cars have fallen short of some predictions. In addition to high prices, range anxiety and a poor charging infrastructure in the US have also worried consumers.
Musk added that next week’s service announcement will be followed by another on Tesla’s ‘Supercharger’ network of quick-charging stations.
Tesla has been working on a third-generation vehicle, smaller than the Model S and roughly the size of BMW’s 3-series.
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By GlobalDataThis week, Tesla dropped its base Model S after just 4% of customers ordered the car, which is equipped with a 40kWh battery pack. Musk said Tesla would honour outstanding orders, but expects the “vast majority” will take advantage of Tesla’s ability to later boost the capacity of those batteries to 60kWh.
Customers would have to pay the US$10,000 price difference between those two models plus an additional fee of around $1,000 for the work required to convert the vehicle.
Musk told Reuters: “The 40 kwh car was just not a good product. It was underpowered and it was the kind of car that would give someone range anxiety. It was like a hobbled horse.”
Reuters noted that, while sales of advanced vehicles are growing, they have fallen far short of some estimates, notably US President Barack Obama’s goal to get 1m plug-in hybrids, extended-range electric cars and pure electric vehicles on US roads by 2015.
“Obama is right about the million, but the year is probably a little further out,” Musk told Reuters. “It’s maybe 2018 or 2017. I think he’s off by about two or three years.”
