Tesla says new electric powertrain deal with Daimler will exceed in value sum of all its prior powertrain agreements
10 May 2012
In its letter to shareholders reporting Q1 2012 results, Tesla Motors Chairman, Product Architect and CEO Elon Musk and Deepak Ahuja, Chief Financial Officer, said that the company had recently signed an agreement with Daimler to create an entire electric powertrain for a new Mercedes-Benz EV, formalizing a joint effort kicked off in Q4 last year. (Earlier post.)
This program is expected to exceed in value the sum of all powertrain agreements signed in Tesla history. [Approximately $280 million, according to Tesla.] Producing at this expected volume will allow for economies of scale that give the resulting vehicle a cost of ownership that is on par with its gasoline equivalent.
—Letter to Shareholders
This will be Tesla’s third deal with Daimler, following component supplies for smart cars and A-Class hatches.
Other highlights of the quarterly report included:
Losses widened to $89.9 million as sales of the Roadster wind down and prior to the release of the Model S.
The first Model S customer cars will be available in June, ahead of the announced July target; Tesla is maintaining its target of 5,000 vehicle deliveries by year end.
Tesla raised the bottom-end of its prior 2012 revenue guidance by $10 million, to $560-600 million, up from $550-600 million.
Well done.
Posted by: Arne | 10 May 2012 at 01:50 AM
Seems Mercedes-Benz strongly believes in Tesla.
With a successful Model S(please do not shoot self in foot), America has a new Silicon Valley automaker.
Posted by: kelly | 10 May 2012 at 07:44 AM
It is very wise of Tesla to share their developed products with Toyota and Mercedes, for added returns and wider spread of the new technologies.
Posted by: HarveyD | 10 May 2012 at 08:01 AM
Most encouraging is to see the high degree of acceptance at the Model S price point. This broadens the EV/PHEV market across entry level and luxury. Probably why Mercedes is upping the ante.
This is a rather astonishing feat to build a brand new automotive company from scratch - in the midst of a slow economy. Congrats Elon and Tesla.
BTW, the interior of the Model S is sublime. Looking forward to a test drive.
Posted by: Reel$$ | 10 May 2012 at 11:59 AM
A clear conclusion from this is that Daimler have decided to adopt copper rotor INDUCTION MOTOR for their electric vehicles, rather than motors based on permanent magnets.
IM control is much more complex that PM motors', and few experts in the world exist with such experience (programming vector control of IMs).
TeslaMotors all models use induction motors, not PM motors.
Posted by: MG | 10 May 2012 at 08:01 PM