Tesla Inc. TSLA now has the long-promised everyman's electric car.
The upstart electric automaker said Thursday it's releasing its Model 3 with a $35,000 base price, realizing a goal company founder Elon Musk has long had for making a mass-market electric car. Tesla has released earlier versions of the Model 3, but this is the first time it has been able to offer one at the lower price. The news was first reported by Electrek.
Tesla said that in order to be able to offer the car at the lower price while remaining financially sustainable, it will shift its sales worldwide to online ordering only, and closing many of its showroom stores.
After Musk tweeted Wednesday an announcement was coming, Tesla's stock traded higher over the next two sessions, closing Thursday at $319.88 per share.
Why It's Important
Before the news on Thursday the cheapest Tesla Model 3 base price was more than $42,000.
The new lower cost version will have a shorter range than the Teslas that have sold for higher prices, Electrek reported. With savings in taxes and gas, the company said on its website it figures the cost actually is closer to $27,000.
Tesla's lower cost model will have 220 miles of range and top out at 130 mph.
The announcement comes amid new scrutiny of Musk.
Earlier this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Musk misled investors with a tweet last week about production targets for the electric cars, and that the tweets violated Musk's settlement from last year with the SEC.
That settlement was over allegations by the SEC involving Musk's tweets about having secured funding to take Tesla private, when he didn't have a funding deal in place. Under the settlement, certain "material" information about Tesla must be preapproved by regulators before Musk tweets about it.
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