Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk told Tesla shareholders he plans to remain in charge of the company for at least the next four or five years.
He may be splitting his long days between carmaking, space exploration and solar cells, but Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk says he expects to remain in his post at the helm of the battery-carmaker for at least another four or five years.
Musk outlined his plans for Tesla during the maker’s annual shareholders meeting, noting he plans to stick around through the launch of the upcoming Model X sport-ute, as well as a more mainstream battery-car that the company had hoped to call the Model E. But that has apparently run afoul of a trademark at Ford Motor Co., and spoils Tesla’s plans to have a line-up that spelled out SEX.
“They are killing SEX,” Musk jokingly told shareholders, noting that Ford had threatened to sue Tesla. But he hints there’s another sexy alternative name Tesla is working on.
Musk has been garnering comparisons to such legendary entrepreneurs and inventors as Thomas Edison for his broad range of visionary projects. He not only heads Tesla, but also runs Space Exploration Technologies, otherwise known as SpaceX, which has been launching supply missions to the International Space Station and last week unveiled a prototype of a manned spacecraft. He also helped found Solar City, which aims to popularize home solar power systems.
“In my case, it is quite difficult being CEO of two companies,” Musk admitted during the shareholders meeting, noting “It was never my intention” to run both Tesla and SpaceX. Nonetheless, he said he remains “committed” to staying with the battery carmaker until it gets the new mainstream model – originally to be called the Model E – into widespread production.
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That $35,000 battery car was expected to make its debut in 2015, possibly at the Detroit Auto Show, but plans appear to have been pushed back a bit, as has the rollout of the Model X battery SUV, which was previously set for a late 2014 launch.
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Most analysts believe that the real test for Tesla will come with the launch of the mid-range model, whatever letter it eventually goes by. Tesla has been growing the business for its current Model S line, but is still only rolling out about 3,000 a month, a number that can’t sustain its business model nor its $200-plus share price, the maker getting the sort of sales-to-earnings multiples normally afforded the best high-tech firms, rather than to an automotive manufacturer.
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Musk has made it clear that he is a true believer in electric propulsion, something that has fascinated him since childhood, he has noted on numerous occasions. And that is apparently prompting him to think about ways to boost the overall market for battery-based vehicles.
He went so far as to hint at the possibility of doing something “fairly controversial” involving Tesla’s patented technology. The CEO didn’t go into details, cautioning he would need to “carefully explain” his idea at a later date, but one possibility is that Tesla might be open to sharing its technology in order to nudge competitors to expand their own battery-car programs.